NarutoxBleach FAILURE
by DarkFayt
Summary: ABANDONED: I started this because the damn bunny wouldn't leave me alone and did it half-assed anyway...so I'm rewriting it all together. I'll leave this up for now but will eventually replace it with the new version...
1. Chapter 1

**Rebirth of a Fallen Hero**

Ch.1 A New Chance…

By DarkFayt

**Ok here is a complete rewrite of my fic**…I just didn't like how it was before…for some reason I have the hardest time starting a fic but after that I have no problem. Unlike my other story I have not written ahead for this fic. My updates will come whenever I get the itch to write more. I have no plans for this other then Naruto acting how I like. So if you don't like it go suck on one of the hebi's eggs if he has any…you find out.

I'm not even sure there will be an end to this. Naruto will act VERY ooc in this fic and you will understand why in this first chapter. My power jumps, training, and special abilities will still be explained with the same detail you all love. Lastly expect major character bashing!

"Normal Talking"

"**Demonic talking"**

"_Thinking"_

"_**Kyuubi talking/thinking"**_

"HIGHER BEING talking"

**Jutsu or Sp. Power/Attack being used**

**I don't own Naruto and never will. This is the only disclaimer for this fic and should be understood to apply to all future chapters. If you can't understand this then please stop reading now because you are too stupid and will most likely kill yourself trying. I use the disclaimer in my other stories for comedy and entertainment but I'm just too lazy to that here.**

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In the depths of the ancient forests that surround Konohagakure no Sato the shadows cast by the great trees kept the deepest parts of the forest in an almost perpetual night. The only light seen in the peaceful forests is the little that fights its way through the think green of the ancient trees. The life of the forest such as birds, animals, and trees all seemed to be at peace with the surroundings until a great pressure descended upon them all. The birds stopped their song to stand in attention, the animal seemed to bow in respect, and the trees themselves almost seem to bend out of the way to allow something greater then themselves to pass.

It was at that moment that a being unlike any other appeared from the darkness. Its blood red fur shined in the pale light. Everything about the creature told of its power. The grace in which it moved, the swift and silent sway of its tails, the shine and ripple of its fur as its sinewy muscles moved beneath it. From the black tips of its tall ears all the way to the obsidian tips of its nine tails the beast was a fearful, but at the same time calm and welcoming sight.

As its crimson eyes scanned the surroundings as it moved through the dense forest it almost seemed to bow its head as if giving his approval for the forest to resume its normalcy after its passing.

As the powerful beast passed the gathered forest life its eyes seemed to dull, _"Kyuubi are you still there?"_ thought the being as it eyes fully clouded over.

For a moment nothing until the crimson nine-tails could hear, _**"Yes I'm here brat…it seems that I will always be here. What is it you want? It has been several centuries since we last spoke…"**_

The nine-tails took a moment to respond as it continued its way through the forest _"How…how long has it been since…?"_

"_**Have the long years been hard on your weakling mind brat? Or have you just finally realized that you can't handle what you have become?"**_

"_I would think that by now Kyuubi that you would realize that Namikaze Naruto does not run from anything…"_

With a deep chuckle _**"Very well…it has been a little over five thousand years since you ascended to what you are now…and since…"**_

"_I know…you don't need to say it. My mind had just gotten a little cloudy is all…I needed a reminder."_

Kyuubi for one of the few times in its existence was curious about his container, _**"What is bothering the gaki? He hasn't acted like this for millennia now. Not since he lost his last mate. To think it has been more then five thousand years since my battle with the Yondaime and here I am still sealed with in his son. You bastard…you never dreamed that this could happen did you? A human heart and mind can only take so much…how long can even someone like Naruto live the life of a demon while a human heart beats in his chest?"**_

As Naruto continued to move swiftly through the dense forest thoughts and memories assaulted his mind. He was so deep in thought that he never even realized coming to a stop atop a hill. When he finally brought his ancient mind back to his surroundings he couldn't help but have a dark chuckle at what he was seeing before him.

"**Konoha…how long has it been since I last saw this place. It seems almost foolish to return here now. Nothing is the same, I know no one here anymore." **as Naruto sits on his haunches to stare at the village he catches a view of the mountain. **"At least they kept the mountain the same. The Shodai Hokage, Nidaime, Sandaime, Yondaime, Gondaime, and the Rokudaime are all still the same. All still there." **Naruto couldn't help but to stop to gaze at his own likeness carved into the mountain side next to Tsunade's. He still couldn't get over the fact that the village had used his demon likeness for the mountain. His ears, slit eyes, and whisker marks being seen next to Tsunade was something he could never get over.

"_**Those foolish villagers took to you in their later years didn't they?"**_ asked the Kyuubi in a strangely friendly tone.

"_Yes they did. I was in office for five years before the majority of the village finally accepted me. Even after finding out who my mother and father were the fact I had begun to absorb your power and body disturbed them too much. It wasn't until the alliance with Kirigakure and the defeat of Oto and Iwa that they finally did. What a sight that was to come home to see my face on that mountain…"_

"_**Yes, that was the battle where you gained the fifth tail wasn't it?"**_ when Naruto remained silent the Kyuubi couldn't help but ask,_**"You miss it don't you boy?"**_

Naruto began to lie down as he crossed his black hand like paws in front of him to rest his head on as he stared out over the Village Hidden in the Leaves, _"Miss my home? Of course I do but a home is more then just the walls or the land. It's the people there when you return and there hasn't been anyone there for me for over 3 millennia."_

"_**You could always find new humans…but they too would pass in time."**_

Naruto couldn't help but let a dark chuckle escape his maw, _"Yes, even if I found more friends they to would pass in time and I have seen enough precious people die before me. The age that I was meant for is gone. The five great hidden villages have been at peace for a thousand years now. The other bijuu all died in the war with Akatsuki when they attempted to summon the Makai-Kami without the last demon…us. Even the lessons of the Takumi village that I thought had died when Gaara finished off its leader have remained alive!"_

"_**Yes, hardly any humans train properly anymore. Most simply rely on those foolish gadgets and weapons. It is rather sad. Humans have always been weak but at least in your time they were beginning to grow stronger. Now, the fool that seems to hold the title of Hokage could barely be considered Jounin let alone a true Kage."**_

Naruto couldn't help but to nod along. Even here he could easily see, smell, hear, and sense the village and he was very disappointed. It seemed the long years of peace between nations had weakened the world greatly. The strongest warriors this world offered could hardly be considered a Jounin in strength and it seemed Genin were the majority in the village.

"**There really isn't any reason for me to be here. No challenge, no one to protect, no purpose…why am I even here?"** asked Naruto to the heavens.

At that moment the sky seemed to blacken instantly as the wind began to blow with such force that the trees creaked in protest until finally it all stopped. Naruto stared into the endless blackness of the sky as a small blue flame danced behind him. Finally a voice so deep and powerful that even Naruto's paled in comparison began to speak and asked, "WE WERE WONDERING THE SAME NAMIKAZE NARUTO, THE KYUUBI NO YOKO."

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Naruto slowly turned to come face to face with the last thing he ever wished to see again. The Shinigami, god of death himself floated before him. Its long white robes and spiky white hair flowed in the wind as its dark purple face with four long gashes traveling across it stared on motionless. Its razor sharp teeth held a crude dagger between them as its left had held a string of prayer beads. Even after all of Naruto's years this was something he couldn't just ignore. In an instant he was on all fours as a burst of crimson fire surrounded him.

When the fire finally died out Naruto stood in his humanoid form. His black spiky hair with glowing crimson tips fell to contrast his face. His deep crimson eye's looked on unblinking as his ears twitched atop his head and his tails slowly swayed behind him.

Naruto's toned muscles tensed under his skin-tight, black shirt. The sleeves nonexistent and the sides above and underneath his shoulders colored a deep red. Thin red lines traveled vertically down his chest, and a strange collar, much like Sasuke's old high-collared shirts stretched up from just beneath his collarbone until it was level with the bottom of his chin. It was black, with the exception of a red strip at the very top.

His pants were black as well, but slowly transitioned into red flames as they moved down his legs. They disappeared into black colored bandages at his shins that lead into shinobi sandals. His shuriken holster was attached to his right leg. Black wrappings around his pants held it in place. His supply pouch still after all these years rested on the back of his right hip.

Black fingerless gloves covered his hands with crimson bands at the base of each finger. The gloves traveled all the way up to his elbows, leaving the top half of his arms bare to the world. The top of the gloves that covered his forearms were protected by strange metal plates covered in seals of some sort. Finally twin belts circled his waist. One secured tightly around his waist and the other sitting at an angle. Both being help in place by a Konoha hitai-ate.

It was clear that Naruto was tense. Ready to fight or flea at a moments notice as he said, **"It's been several thousand years since we last met Shinigami-sama…what is it you need from me…"**

"_**Careful boy. The Shinigami does not appear for petty reasons. One wrong move and you could end up with a deadly fight…"**_

Before Naruto could answer Kyuubi's warning, "THE FORMER KYUUBI IS CORRECT NAMIKAZE. I AM NOT HERE FOR TRIFLE MATTERS."

"**So you can hear Kyuubi? I shouldn't be surprised…so what is it the mighty demi-god of death needs from me?"** asked Naruto as he relaxed his stance.

"SIMPLY THIS…IT WAS DECIDED LONG AGO THAT YOU WERE NO LONGER NEEDED IN THIS WORLD…BUT UNTIL YOU REALIZED IT YOURSELF MYSELF AND THE OTHER GOD WERE UNABLE TO ACT UPON IT…BUT SINCE YOU HAVE ASKED THE QUESTION I AM NOW HERE TO MAKE A REQUEST FOR KAMI-SAMA…"

"**No…longer needed? What do you mean needed? Who decided!?" **asked Naruto thinking that someone dared try and decide his fate for him.

"_**Careful boy…this seems more serious then you may think."**_

"YOUR TENANT IS CORRECT NAMIKAZE. AFTER THE DEFEAT OF THE OTHER BIJUU LORDS AND THE SEALING OF THE MAKAI-KAMI THE NEED FOR BEINGS SUCH AS YOU HAD REACHED AN END. THE DESTRUCTIVE POWER OF THE 9 BIJUU WAS GREATER THEN ANY OTHER BUT AT THE SAME TIME THE 9 WOULD NEVER WORK IN UNISON AND SOME WERE NOTHING MORE THEN RAVING BEASTS. IT WAS THIS FACT THAT ALOUD KAMI-SAMA TO USE THEIR UNTAMED POWER AS A WAY TO PROTECT THE WORLD HE LOVED SO DEARLY EVEN IF THEY CAUSED PAIN IN IT. THE DESTRUCTION AND EVIL OF THE 9 BIJUU WAS NOTHING COMPARED TO THE DARKNESS THEY PROTECTED THE WORLD FROM…THE POWER OF THE 9 WAS USED BY KAMI TO SEAL THE WORLD OF MAN AWAY FROM ALL OTHERS AND GUARD AGAINST THE INFLUENCE OF THE MAKAI-KAMI. SO YOU SEE BY YOU DEFEATING THE OTHER 8 BIJUU AND PLACING A FINAL SEAL AGAINST THE MAKAI-KAMI YOU FULFILLED YOUR OWN PURPOSE BEFORE YOU EVEN KNEW OF IT…"

Naruto was silent for a long time as he played what the Shinigami had said through his mind again and again, _"My purpose is done? It was the monster bijuu that protected the world for so many millennia? Kami-sama allowed a lesser evil so he could protect us against a greater one? If this is true am I truly useless…" _

"NO YOU ARE NOT USELESS NAMIKAZE…" said the Shinigami catching Naruto off guard, "IT IS JUST THE FACT THAT THIS WORLD IS NO LONGER YOURS. THE AGE WHERE BEINGS WITH YOUR KIND OF POWER ARE GONE FOR THIS WORLD. THE WORLD IS AT PEACE AND THE POWERS OF DESTRUCTION ARE WEAKENING. WAR IS A THING OF THE PAST FOR THIS WORLD AND EVEN THE CONFLICTS THAT STILL EXIST ARE NOTHING MORE THEN GAMES TO BEINGS LIKE YOU. THERE IS NOTHING LEFT HERE FOR YOU. NO CHALLENGE, NO BEING EVEN CLOSE TO YOUR POWER, NO PRECIOUS PEOPLE…"

Naruto couldn't except what he was hearing…it seemed just so wrong to him, **"So what…are you telling me that because I finished what the bijuu were meant to do that I'm useless now? That Kami just wants me to roll over and die and leave his peaceful world alone?"**

If it was possible for the Shinigami to sound any more petrifying… "DO NOT SAY SUCH HERESY BEFORE ME! KAMI-SAMA WOULD NEVER ABANDON ONE AS PURE AS YOU! YOU HAVE LIVED YOUR LIFE IN THE PUREST OF WAYS! CARING FOR ALL, PROTECTING ANYONE IN NEED OF IT, NEVER TAKING JOY IN CAUSING PAIN! YOU ARE THE DREAM HE HAS ALWAYS WANTED FOR HIS CHILDREN IN THIS WORLD…"

As the Shinigami's voice began to soften it was almost as if the god of death began to show his age, "I HAVE TAKEN COUNTLESS SOULS AND NEVER HAVE I SEEN A SOUL AS CLEAN AS YOURS EXCEPT FROM THE YOUNGEST OF CHILDREN…I CAN CLEARLY SEE THE BLOOD THAT STAINS YOUR HANDS BUT I ALSO SEE THE PAIN YOU CARRY AND TEARS YOU HAVE SHED FOR EVERY LIFE YOU HAVE TAKEN. IF I COULD RETURN THE ONES PRECIOUS TO YOU I WOULD DO SO IN AN INSTANT BUT DEATH FLOWS ONLY ONE WAY…BUT FOR YOU DEATH DOES NOT EXIST. WHAT KAMI-SAMA WISHES FOR YOU IS TO GIVE YOU A SECOND CHANCE. TO SEND THE ONE HE IS MOST PROUD OF TO ANOTHER WORLD. A WORLD WHERE HE IS NEEDED AND WHERE HE MAY START A NEW…"

"**Kami…is proud of me? He wants to send me to another world? What other world and why can't I stay here?" **asked Naruto as his knees finally gave way under him. For the first time Naruto began to feel his own age, began to wonder if maybe he truly had no purpose…

"KAMI-SAMA ONLY CREATED ONE UNIVERSE BUT FOR THAT ONE UNIVERSE THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF POSSIBLE PATHS. YOUR WORLD IS MERELY ONE OF THEM AND THANKS TO YOU FOR AS FAR AS KAMI-SAMA CAN SEE YOU HAVE SECURED PEACE AND HAPPINESS FOR IT BUT THERE ARE STILL COUNTLESS OTHERS WITH UNSURE AND DARK PATHS STILL AHEAD. YOU ARE A PROTECTOR THAT DRAWS HIS ULTIMATE POWER FROM HIS DESIRE TO PROTECT THOSE HE CARES FOR BUT IN THIS WORLD THERE IS NOT ONLY NOTHING TO PROTECT AGAINST…THERE IS NO ONE YOU TRULY WISH TO PROTECT LIKE YOU DID IN THE PAST. KAMI-SAMA WISHES TO SEND YOU TO ANOTHER WORLD WHERE NOT ONLY MAY YOU FIND NEW ENEMIES BUT NEW PRECIOUS PEOPLE…"

"**New precious…people? What would be the point…they would only fade in time just as my last ones did thousands of years ago…I can't take watching more people I love wither before me under the weight of time…new world or not the fate of my loved ones would still be the same in the end. Even I can't stop death…" **as Naruto finished speaking he leveled an ice cold glare at the Shinigami that the god of death understood very well.

"DO NOT THINK I HAVE FORGOTTEN OUR BATTLE. I STILL CARRY THE SCAR YOU LEFT ACROSS MY FACE WHEN YOU FOUGHT FOR HER…I AM SORRY FOR TAKING…ALL OF THEM FROM YOU BUT HUMANS ARE MORTAL AND MUST PASS ON IN TIME. ONLY BEINGS SUCH AS YOU AND I MAY IGNORE THE PASSAGE OF TIME AND THE RAVAGES OF DEATH. BELIEVE WHEN I SAY DEATH IS EVEN BEYOND MY CONTROL…I ONLY ACT AS A GUIDE IN DEATH."

"**Just as you said…humans die. Even you can't stop that so what is the point in protecting them if I can not keep them from all harm? No matter how powerful I become I can never protect them forever!"**

"AND YOU ARE NOT MEANT TO! I SEE THE YEARS HAVE WORN ON YOU AS WELL NAMIKAZE…WE AS IMMORTALS ARE NOT MEANT TO RULE OVER MORTAL OR COMMAND THEM. WE ARE HERE TO ENSURE THE TIME THEY DO HAVE IS AS ENLIGHTENING AS POSSIBLE. THE BRIEF TIME MORTAL EXIST ALLOWS THEM TO CREATE BEAUTY THAT NOT EVEN WE IMMORTALS COULD IMAGINE…THAT IS WHY WE EXIST. TO ALLOW THEM TO USE THE BRIEF FLICKER OF LIFE THEY HAVE AS THEY WISH. WHETHER THAT IS TO CREATE BEAUTY OR FOR WAR IS NOT FOR US TO SAY. IT IS MERELY TO ALLOW IT…"

Naruto was silent as he dove deep into his memories of his friends and precious people. It was as if he was watching them before his very eyes once again. The lives they lived and how they lived them. He watched as they grew up, got married, had children of their own, used their lives to the fullest and as they wished and finally as they grew older and he remained the same. Naruto had always thought they had resented him for his immortality. Cursed him from where he couldn't hear for what he was. It was then that he remembered…they had never cursed him for his immortality. Never let their own mortality stop them from smiling at him…not even his own wife had hated him as he held her hand as she finally passed on after their 43rd year together.

"**That's right…they always smiled at me…they never hated me for being immortal…it was me that hated my immortality…because I was being left behind as they all left for a new adventure that I couldn't be a part of…they…"**

"YOU FINALLY UNDERSTAND. THIS WAS THE LAST THING TYING YOU TO THIS WORLD. YOUR OWN RESENTMENT FOR WHAT YOU HAVE BECOME. NOT A DEMON BUT NOT HUMAN. THE HEART OF A HUMAN BUT THE POWER OF A GOD. YOU ALWAYS WISHED TO BE ACCEPTED BY THOSE AROUND YOU AND ONCE YOU WERE YOU DISCOVERED YOU WERE NO LONGER LIKE THEM BUT WHETHER YOU REALIZED IT OR NOT YOU USED ALL OF YOUR POWER TO ALLOW THEM TO LEAD HAPPY AND FULFILLING LIVES. THEY MAY BE GONE BUT AS LONG AS YOU LIVE AND REMEMBER THEM THEY WILL NEVER BE GONE. IT IS WHAT ALL MORTALS STRIVE TO DO WHETHER THEY KNOW IT OR NOT…TO LEAVE THEIR MARK ON THIS WORLD SO THEY WILL BE REMEMBERED AND THE ONES THAT HAVE TOUCHED YOU WERE ABLE TO ATTAIN THEIR OWN IMMORTALITY FOR THEY WILL ALWAYS LIVE IN YOUR HEART AND MEMORIES. NOW WILL YOU LISTEN TO WHAT KAMI-SAMA ASKS OF YOU?"

Naruto didn't even need to say anything as his whiskered face broke out into a wide grin that put the ones he had as a child to shame. The Shinigami couldn't help but to nod his head in approval as he began his tale of the history of a world more different then Naruto could have ever imagined…

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"Hay Dammit!!!" was the loud call from of all things…a stuffed lion toy, "Wake up Ichigo! Its morning! Wake up! Wake up!" called the toy incessantly.

As the stuffed animal continued to hop up and down on the orange haired boys chest anyone could see the annoyance in the boys eyes as the toy continued to talk nonsense. Finally the boy called Ichigo grabbed the stuffed lion by the head and roughly threw it against the wall as he said, "I thought I told you to act like a normal, silent stuffed animal Kon?"

As Ichigo stood and began to dress and prepare for the day the stuffed animal known as Kon continued to ramble off one stupid thing after another until strangely enough a girl with short black hair wearing a school uniform much like Ichigo's emerged from the closet of all places saying, "It's still early and you're so loud! I can't even change my clothes in peace!"

"Umph!"

As Ichigo pointed down and said, "Rukia…" said girl looked down to see the same stuffed lion under her foot looking straight up mouthing the words 'nice angle'.

In an instant the newly named Rukia began beating the stuffed lion as it screamed, "Stop! Stop! The cottons coming out! The cotton!!!"

Now anyone would most likely find the situation hilarious but the boy of 15 seemed to only be annoyed by it. The beating the poor stuffed animal was receiving would most likely have continued for some time if not for…

"Nii-chan!"

"Wha?" as soon as Rukia and the stuffed toy heard the call from the young girl both scrambled to hide in the closet as Ichigo scrambled to close the door behind them.

"Can I come in?" asked the young girl as she started to crack the door open…

"S-sure Yuzu!" called Ichigo just as he slammed the door behind Rukia.

"You know…what are you up to?"

"Uhh, nothing! Nothing at all! What about you? What do you want so early?" asked Ichigo as he stood.

As Yuzu looked on with an annoyed look on her young face she said, "It's not that early, geez…Kojima-kun is here and he's been waiting for you."

"Mizuiro? What time is it?" asked Ichigo as he began to scramble to finish dressing and getting ready for school.

As Yuzu walked out the door she said, "Be sure to say sorry to Kojima-kun from dads window since he's still waiting…"

Ichigo stuck his head out of the window in the next room and called out, "Sorry Mizuiro! I slept in! I'll be ready in a minute. You want to wait inside?"

Asked Ichigo to hear the happy call of 'oookkkkaaayyy'

"Ichigo, I'm going on ahead." said Rukia as she began to climb out Ichigo's bedroom window.

"Awww man, why didn't dad come wake me up?! Usually he comes crashing in whether I like it or not!" as Ichigo looks down at his watch his face becomes solemn as his shoulders drop. As Rukia looked on from her perch at the window it was almost as if the life had just drained out of him.

"What's wrong? Why the long face?" asked Rukia unsure of how to ask.

"Nothing…" was the only reply Ichigo gave, _"I…see. It's soon…"_

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As Naruto sat before the god of death sorting through all the details he had just received with Kyuubi. He couldn't help but be intrigued by this new world.

"_What do you think Kyuubi? It sounds interesting at least and it's not like we have anything to do here…" _asked Naruto as he gazed at the Shinigami.

"_**Not that you need to ask me gaki. If you have forgotten I am nothing more then the voice in your head that tells you to do bad things…"**_

If it was possible for Naruto to glare into his own mind he would have been doing fairly well. At least enough for Kyuubi to get his point, _**"Don't get me wrong boy. I understand you needing my brilliant insight but for someone just along for the ride it seems rather pointless…all I can say is go over what has been told to you before you allow yourself to be taken anywhere. Knowledge is a greater power then any other. Even for demons."**_

Before Naruto had a chance to respond to Kyuubi's advice the booming voice of the Shinigami shook the land as the world seemed to turn to a black void… "DO NOT BE MISTAKEN FORMER KYUUBI. YOU WILL BE SIGNIFICANT FOR THIS TO HAPPEN AND YOU ARE CORRECT. THIS IS THE ONLY CHANCE FOR BOTH OF YOU TO RECEIVE KNOWLEDGE OF THIS NEW WORLD…"

In that instant it was as if the world of endless black faded into a blinding light. As Naruto reopened his eyes he couldn't help but gasp at what he saw before or more exactly under him. The sky was the same endless blue of his world as the clouds seemed just as relaxing and care free. The trees just as green but that was the end of what he could relate to his world. Towers of stone and glass that rivaled Konoha's tallest trees blocked the horizon from view as roads as black as coal twisted in all directions. The colors, smells and even the very sounds of this world seemed to assault Naruto in every way he could imagine.

"THIS NAMIKAZE IS THE WORLD OF HUMANS. THE WORLD KAMI-SAMA WISHES TO SEND YOU. THE WORLD THAT YOURS COULD HAVE BEEN."

Naruto stared below him as his senses finally became attuned to all the new sensations he was able to receive from the world below him. **"This the human world you told me of? This is what me world will be in a few hundred years?" **

"IN TERMS OF TECHNOLOGY THIS WORLD WAS MUCH THE SAME AS YOUR 300 YEARS AGO AND IT IS FAIRLY CERTAIN THAT YOUR OWN KONOHA WILL LOOK SIMILAR TO THIS IN ANOTHER 300 YEARS…WHAT DO YOU THINK NAMIKAZE? IS THIS AN ADVENTURE YOU WOULD WISH FOR?"

"**You don't need to try and trick me into this Shinigami. I decided to do this after you approached me. There is nothing left for me in Konoha and all I have done in my world is pass into legend already. The Kyuubi no Yoko that served as the Rokudaime Hokage is a children's story now…a new adventure sounds perfect for a legend…doesn't it?"**

"I SUPPOSE IT DOES…I WONDER HOW LONG IT WILL BE BEFORE I TO PASS INTO NOTHING MORE THEN LEGEND IN OUR WORLD? IT IS THE END OF AN AGE FOR BEING SUCH AS US IS IT NOT. IF YOU HAVE DECIDED THEN IT WILL TAKE ME A FEW MOMENTS TO PREPARE YOUR PASSAGE…"

"**If it is alright with you I would like to go over what is going to happen to me and what you told me about this world."** As the Shinigami gave a solid nod as it continued to form a portal of black energy in its hand Naruto began to run through all the questions he and Kyuubi wanted answered before it was too late.

"**Ok so first off this world has several planes of existence just as mine does correct?"** with a second nod Naruto continued, **"There are 5 worlds total. The Human plane, Seireitei, Hueco Mundo, Hell, and this True Heaven correct? Seireitei is where the demi-Shinigami are, Hueco Mundo is where those Hollow live and Heaven and Hell are the same!"**

"CORRECT NAMIKAZE, JUST AS IN OUR WORLD THERE ARE DEMI-GODS THAT WATCH OVER THIS WORLD AND CARE FOR ITS NEEDS. AT FIRST THERE WERE THREE GODS THAT CARED FOR THIS WORLD. THE ONE THAT SITS ON THE THROWN IN TRUE HEAVEN AND WATCHES OVER THE WORLD IN KAMI-SAMA'S STEAD. THE ONE IN HELL THAT CARES FOR THE CLEANSING OF DAMNED SOULS AND JUST AS IN THIS WORLD THERE WAS ONCE A SHINIGAMI THAT CARED FOR THE PASSING OF THE DEAD AND ALL THAT CAME WITH IT."

"**Yah you said something about that before. When the humans of this world began to war less with each other and their medicines advanced that there were so many humans that the original Shinigami couldn't handle it alone and created these demi-shinigami to help but in time he just turned everything over to them right?"**

"AGAIN…YOU ARE CORRECT. BEFORE IT WAS A SIMPLE BALANCE THAT THE SHINIGAMI WOULD JUDGE THE DEAD TO EITHER RISE TO BE CLEANSED IN HEAVEN TO RETURN TO THE EARTH OR FALL INTO HELL FOR THE SAME. THE SHINIGAMI ALSO HAD THE TASK OF HUNTING DOWN FALLEN SOULS THAT EITHER ESCAPED HIS CLUTCHES OR THE GATES OF HELL THEMSELVES. AFTER THE SHINIGAMI PASSED THOUGH ALL THESE RESPONSIBILITIES FELL TO THE NEW SHINIGAMI TO PERFORM."

"**Hmm, so the Shinigami that exist now are the descendants of the original ones…interesting. I wonder how many humans exist in this world that it was too much for the original to handle? Wait, if our world is following the same path does that mean it will happen there to?"**

With a confused look from Naruto and the slight twitch of his ears the Shinigami decided to continue, "THE WORLD WE HAVE FOUND FOR YOU NAMIKAZE IS ONE AS UNIQUE AS YOU ARE. IN THIS WORLD THE HUMANS ARE MUCH LIKE THE ONES THAT ARE DEVELOPING IN OUR WORLD. THEY ARE DEPENDANT ON TECHNOLOGY AND MONETARY SYSTEMS BUT THE HUMANS ARE NOT WHY WE CHOSE THIS WORLD. WE CHOSE THIS WORLD BECAUSE UNLIKE THIS ONE THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF SHINIGAMI AS I SAID BEFORE…"

Naruto's eyes nearly bulge out of his head as he falls on his tail and stutters out, **"Th-th-thousands?!? How can that be? A world filled with Shinigami? You said before there was more then one but thousands?"**

"NO, NOT HOW YOU ARE THINKING BOY. IN THIS WORLD THERE NEVER HAS BEEN MANY HUMANS ALIVE AT ONE TIME. EVEN AT THE HIGHEST OF POPULATIONS THIS WORLD HAS ONLY SEEN FIFTY MILLION OR SO AT ONE TIME SO A SINGLE SHINIGAMI HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABLE TO WATCH OVER THE PATHS OF DEATH. IN THIS NEW WORLD THOUGH BECAUSE OF THE ADVANCE IN MEDICINES, LACK OF WARS IN MANY COUNTRIES, AND THE GENERAL LIFE OF THE WORLD THE POPULATION THERE IS WELL OVER SIX BILLION."

At this point Naruto had used his control over earth to form himself a seat made of plants and dirt to sit on as he listened to the Shinigami and was rather intrigued at this point, _"A world of humans, Shinigami, and monsters called Hollow huh? It sounds interesting for sure but do I really want to trust this deity? This is the god of death after all…I want to go but…"_

"_**It's better then just staying here isn't it?" **_asked Kyuubi breaking Naruto out of his thoughts, _**"It's your choice boy. I'm only along for the ride but there is nothing left here and at least there you could have some fun and interesting fights? I doubt the Shinigami will offer this again…"**_

Naruto couldn't help but let a soft smile pass his features as he looked straight at the Shinigami as he approached the growing black sphere. As Naruto slowly stretched his clawed hand towards the growing sphere he said, **"I guess it's settled then…all I need to know is the how…"**

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Ok I know a rewrite is a pain in the ass but this was originally only a plot bunny that wouldn't stop attacking me but after thinking it over more and actually watching the 'Bleach' series I know what I want to do! So I needed to go back and redo this as well as redoing the forever **'BOLD'** I had going before…it would have gotten annoying…

Well I hope you all enjoy!!!


	2. Chapter 2

Ch.2 Instinct

By DarkFayt

You all can thank **Uncle Joe **for a portion of this chapter. I have so many ideas for powers, story lines, twists, character developments…but for some reason I just can't get started on my own. I always read fics. See what someone else has done then POOF it's like my brain starts working. For this fic thank Uncle Joe. For 'Demonic Nemesis' you can thank **Tellemicus Sundance**.

Also I have absolutely no care for my grammar or spelling in this fic so if you're going to review to comment on either please don't. If you have something to say about the STORY then I can't wait to here it. Especially if you have an idea for me!

"Normal Talking"

"**Demonic talking"**

"_Thinking"_

"_**Kyuubi talking/thinking"**_

"HIGHER BEING talking"

**Jutsu or Sp. Power/Attack being used**

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**(Last time)**

"_**It's better then just staying here isn't it?" **__asked Kyuubi breaking Naruto out of his thoughts, __**"It's your choice boy. I'm only along for the ride but there is nothing left here and at least there you could have some fun and interesting fights? I doubt the Shinigami will offer this again…"**_

_Naruto couldn't help but let a soft smile pass his features as he looked straight at the Shinigami as he approached the growing black sphere. As Naruto slowly stretched his clawed hand towards the growing sphere he said, __**"I guess it's settled then…all I need to know is the how…"**_

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"**Oww…what happened to me?" **asked Naruto as he scanned his surroundings. It was then that his eyes fell on something he never thought he would see again. There floating in the seemingly endless white was a man. A man wearing the same clothes as him but yet it was not him. This man had no whisker marks; sun kissed blonde hair, and lacked any sign of being a demon and where his clothes held the crimson color he had come to love this mans clothes held white. Yet Naruto felt he knew this man. If Naruto had not been more aware of himself he would have sworn he was staring at his father the Yondaime Hokage wearing his clothes.

After straightening himself with a small burst of youki Naruto began to scan the world of white for anything that could tell him where he was. That was when he saw some kind of red sphere of energy off to his right. **"I need to stop drinking like I do…I'm seeing things again…I hope this isn't one where I'll see Gai dancing again…ugh…"**

"YOU ARE NOT HALLUCINATING NAMIKAZE. THIS IS MERELY THE LAST STEP IN YOUR JOURNEY TO YOUR NEW HOME. THE FIRST WAS YOUR OWN ACCEPTANCE OF IT. THEN IT WAS THE DESIRE TO GO AND NOW THIS IS JUST THE TIME WHEN I WILL PREPARE YOU TO MOVE ON. IT WILL ONLY TAKE A FEW MOMENTS…"

Naruto spun around only see the gruesome purple face of the Shinigami yet again. At that moment everything had come back to Naruto and he had questions for the Shinigami as it stared at him.

"**Alright I remember now…I agreed to go but you said you would answer some questions if I did! First, Where exactly are we? What's up with the look alike and the red orb? And how are you going to limit my power? There is no way I'm going anywhere without at least knowing that!"**

"I ONLY PROMISED TO TELL YOU OF YOUR POWER BEING BOUND AND NOTHING ELSE BUT I CAN UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTIONS SO I WILL ANSWER THEM AS BEST I CAN BEFORE SENDING YOU ON YOUR WAY." The Shinigami then took a moment before continuing, "THIS PLACE IS THE NEXUS…THE SPACE WHERE ALL DIMENSIONS AND REALMS CONNECT TO ONE ANOTHER IN KAMI-SAMA'S GRAND DESIGN AND THAT IS ALL YOU NEED KNOW OF THIS PLACE. TO ANSWER YOUR SECOND QUESTION THAT BLONDE MAN IS YOUR HUMAN FORM FOR THIS NEW WORLD."

This caught Naruto off guard. He couldn't believe what he had heard. Using a burst of youki he moved himself closer to his other self. Never before had he wanted to be wrong in his life but the scent, the feel, and even the way the heart beat… **"This is supposed to be me? My human form…then what's the red orb? Is that a part of me too that you took? And why split me apart in the first place?"**

"WHEN YOU BECAME A DEMON YOU KEPT SMALL PIECES OF YOUR HUMANITY. THAT IS WHAT HAS ALWAYS MADE YOU SPECIAL. DIFFERENT FROM OTHER DEMONS…THIS BODY IS WHAT YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN IF YOU HAD NEVER TAKEN THE FORMER KYUUBI'S OFFER. IT IS MOSTLY HUMAN BUT STILL DEMON TO A POINT. JUST AS THE BODY YOU RESIDE IN NOW IS DEMON BUT IS STILL HUMAN. EACH BODY HAS DOMINANT ATTRIBUTES OF EITHER DEMON OR HUMAN BUT BE ASSURED THEY HAVE BOTH. AS TO WHAT THOSE ARE…YOU WILL HAVE TO DISCOVER THOSE ON YOUR OWN."

"**That still doesn't answer why you did it? If you have taken my human parts away then what am I now while in this body?"** asked Naruto obviously distressed as he scanned over his body with his acute eyes and taking whiffs of the air.

"I HAVE NOT SPLIT YOU NAMIKAZE. YOU HAVE NOT HAD A TRULY HUMAN FORM SINCE YOUR ASCENSION. THIS HUMAN FORM WAS CREATED BY DRAWING OUT YOUR HUMAN SIDE AND USING IT TO CREATE THIS FORM FOR YOU TO USE JUST AS YOU USE YOUR OTHERS. THE HUMANS OF YOUR NEW HOME WOULD NOT REACT WELL TO A DEMON FOX OR HANYO SO CREATING A HUMAN FORM WAS NECESSARY…"

"**And what would that be?"**

"THIS BODY HAS THE LIMITS OF A HUMAN EVEN THOUGH IT HAS DEMONIC ABILITIES. BASICALLY THIS WILL LIMIT YOUR POWER TO THAT OF HOW YOU WERE BEFORE BECOMING A DEMON. THIS WILL ALLOW YOU TO MORE EASILY LIVE AROUND OTHER HUMANS. YOUR DEMON BODY WILL BE USED FOR COMBAT OR WHEN YOU ENCOUNTER THE DEMI-SHINIGAMI OR HOLLOW. WHILE THIS HUMAN BODY IS FAR ABOVE THAT OF ANY NORMAL HUMAN OF THAT WORLD IT WOULD BE TORN APART BY A SHINIGAMI."

"**Okay you lost me now…I'm going to have 2 bodies? A human one and a demon one…how in the 9 hells is that going to work?"**

With a deep sigh that almost shook the world of white the Shinigami said, "I CAN ADMIRE YOUR CURIOSITY NAMIKAZE BUT WE ARE RUNNING SHORT ON TIME. IF WE DO NOT SEND YOU ON YOUR WAY SOON THE WINDOW TO YOUR INTENDED WORLD WILL CLOSE AND WE WILL NOT KNOW WHERE YOU WILL ARRIVE. I WILL MAKE THIS AS EASY AS I CAN. SO PLEASE LISTEN CAREFULLY."

Naruto merely fanned his tails out behind him as he listened carefully to the Shinigami…

"THE SEAL I PLACED UPON YOU WHICH YOU STILL BEAR IS NOT A WAY TO KEEP SOMETHING SEALED INSIDE YOUR BODY. IT IS A PORTAL AND LOCK FOR A SMALL DIMENSION THAT IS OUTSIDE TIME AND SPACE. YOU ARE SIMPLY THE SOURCE OF POWER THAT KEEPS IT INTACT. SINCE YOUR ABSORPTION OF THE FORMER KYUUBI THIS SPACE HAS BEEN STORING THE ENERGY AND THIS WILL BE USED FOR VARYING THING IN THIS TRANSFER. THE FIRST OF ALL IS TO FUSE BOTH BODIES SO YOU MAY SWITCH BETWEEN THEM AS YOU WISH."

"_Kay this sounds easy enough…he made me a human form so I don't scare anyone and will be using this stored energy to give me access to it. I've known about the seal still drawing on my youki but I just ignored it…good thing I guess…I don't need to go scaring people."_

"AS I SAID BEFORE YOUR HUMAN FORM WILL BE FOR WHEN YOU HAVE CONTACT WITH OTHER HUMANS. EVEN THOUGH YOU WILL BR ABLE TO USE YOUKI IN ANY OF YOUR FORMS I WOULD ADVISE NOT USING IT ACCESSIBLY. THERE IS NOTHING LIKE YOUKI IN THIS NEW WORLD AND IT IS BOUND TO ATTRACT ATTENTION IF USED TOO MUCH. YOUR DEMON BODY WILL BE NO DIFFERENT THEN IT IS NOW EXCEPT FOR YOUR TAILS AND HOW YOU USE THEM. NOW YOU HAVE 9 OF THEM. 4 OF THEM WILL BE SEALED WITHIN YOUR ZANPAKU-TO. WITH EACH RELEASE OF YOUR SWORD YOU WILL GAIN 2 OF THEM BACK ALONG WITH WHATEVER POWERS YOUR SWORD WILL POSSESS."

"**You explained about the Zanpaku-to earlier but I wasn't imagining you using it's sealed states to hold my power back…"**

"THE COLLECTIVE GODS FROM OUR WORLD AND THIS NEW ONE DECIDED UPON THIS NUMBER BECAUSE 5 TAILS WILL PUT YOU WITH THE RAW POWER OF THE STRONGEST IN THIS NEW WORLD. ANY MORE THEN THAT AND YOU VERY EXISTENCE WOULD PUT UNNEEDED STRESS ON THE WORLD ITSELF…"

"**So…the strongest in this world is equal to 5 tails? That's even more then I expected. So if I release all the way to my…what did you call it? Bankai…then I will be the strongest…?"**

"NO…THE POWER OF THESE BEINGS IS DIFFICULT TO DISCERN. IT IS ASSURED THAT 5 TAILS WILL PUT YOU AS ONE OF THE STRONGEST IN THAT WORLD BUT THERE IS NO GUARANTY THAT EVEN WITH ALL 9 YOU WILL BE THE STRONGEST. YOU WILL HAVE TO DISCOVER ON YOUR OWN WHERE YOU TRULY STAND. AS YOU SAID IN THE PAST 'POWER ALONE DOESN'T MAKE YOU STRONG' NOW IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS THIS WILL BE YOUR LAST CHANCE."

Naruto took his classic thinking pose as he shifted his weight to one leg and crossed his arms. _"Alright…4 of my tails will be sealed away and all I will have to do is learn this Shikai and Bankai to gain them back. It doesn't sound too bad at all. I get a human form again…it will be a lot easier then using illusions all the time and I will still have my youki at the core. My human and Hanyo forms are a mix of human and demon as well...I can find out about that myself though what I need to know is what are the specifics of the sword? Also what is the red orb?"_

"**Shinigami-sama if I may…before you send me I would like to know 2 more things. First I wanted to know exactly how I will get this…zanpaku-to and what is the red orb? Is it another part of me?"**

The Shinigami was silent for a moment as if he was considering not telling Naruto…"YOU WILL OBTAIN THE SWORD WHEN YOU ARRIVE IN THE NEW WORLD. PART OF THE SEAL WILL DISAPPEAR AND MIX WITH YOUR OWN SOUL AND YOUKI TO CREATE IT. REMEMBER A DEMI-SHINGAMI IS CREATED BE BEING EXPOSED TO REIATSU. THE SEAL IS A SMALL PORTION OF MY POWER SO I AM DISSOLVING A PORTION OF IT TO EXPOSE YOU TO REIATSU. THE REPRESSION SEAL WILL NO LONGER BE NEEDED ANYWAY. REMEMBER…YOUKI IS A POWER LIKE NO OTHER. IT IS PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL. IT CAN HEAL THE GRAVEST OF WOUNDS OR CAUSE THE MOST PAINFUL SENSATIONS. I HAVE ALWAYS WONDERED WHY KAMI-SAMA SAW FIT TO BESTOW SUCH A POWER ON DEMONS. AS FOR WHAT THE ORB IS…HAVE YOU BEEN LISTENING TO EVERYTHING FORMER KYUUBI?"

In that instant the red sphere burst and covered the world of white in a pale red. As the energy from the orb began to swirl the head of a fox began to form out of it. **"I heard it all but what does it have to do with me Shinigami? Now that I am no longer a part of Naruto I am almost assured a long stay in the fires of hell."**

As Naruto looked on he couldn't help but feel…empty. Kyuubi had always been a part of him. A jabbing remark, a trusted ally, a wise consort…the thought of losing the Kyuubi was too much, _"Kyuubi…won't be with me? Am, I losing another one…"_

"THERE IS A CHOICE THAT YOU AND NAMIKAZE NEED TO MAKE…A CHOICE THAT YOU NEED TO DECIDE UPON…FORMER KYUUBI. NAMIKAZE'S CHOICE ON THE OTHER HAND WILL BE IF HE WILL ACCEPT YOUR CHOICE OR NOT."

"**And what would those choice's be Shinigami?"** asked both Naruto and Kyuubi simultaneously only to smirk at each other at the end.

"THE CHOICE FOR YOU IS SIMPLE KYUUBI. EITHER SUBMIT TO NAMIKAZE AND BECOME THE CORE AND SPIRIT OF HIS ZANPAKU-TO OR BURN IN THE FIRES OF HELL FOR ALL TIME…"

It was silent for a moment as a giant sweat drop formed of both Naruto's and Kyuubi's foreheads, **"There's a real simple one…" **spoke Naruto and Kyuubi in unison. Then after looking at each other Naruto said, **"We've been together too long…" **as they looked at the ground sweat dropping again…

"VERY WELL, I CAN ASSUME FROM NAMIKAZE'S RESPONSE THAT HE HAS AGREED TO THIS ARRANGEMENT AS WELL. 4 OF YOUR TAILS AND KYUUBI'S SOUL WILL BE SEALED WITHIN A SPHERE. WHEN YOU ARRIVE IT WILL THEN TAKE ON THE FORM OF AN ASAUCHI (shallow cut) OR A SWORD WITH NO NAME. WHEN YOU ARRIVE IN THIS NEW WORLD YOUR ZANPAKU-TO WILL BE THIS WAY UNTIL YOU ARE ABLE TO ABSORB A SMALL PORTION OF REIATSU FROM A SHINIGAMI. ONCE THIS IS DONE YOUR ZANPAKU-TO WILL FULLY AWAKEN AND TAKE ON SOME OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SHINIGAMI'S ZANPAKU-TO. ALSO UNTIL YOUR SWORD AWAKENS YOUR USE OF YOUKI WILL BE LIMITED AS IT WILL BE TIES DIRECTLY TO YOU BUT I MUST WARN YOU…DO NOT ALLOW YOUR BLADE TO TOUCH ANY OTHER BEING IN THAT WORLD UNTIL IT HAS AWAKENED. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF IT AWAKENS BY ANYTHING OTHER THEN A SHINIGAMI. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

Naruto and Kyuubi giving a solid nod was the last thing Naruto could see before his the Shinigami seemed to fade from his view as his world turned black…

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Naruto groaned as he again awoke from a strange sleep. He felt as if he was floating peacefully in the air. Slowly he began to feel a pull and when he opened his eyes he uttered a single sentence, "Aww fuck"

He was at least a hundred feet in the air. In an instant he began a sequence of hand seals but to his horror…nothing. "Shit I can't use my youki yet!!!" He screamed as he neared the ground and impacted with a loud crunch.

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A black cat walking leisurely through a forest suddenly turned its head towards a flash of black light in the sky. Startled it looked at where the light had come from through a gap in the trees and was surprised to see what looked like a person falling from the sky. The person began to scream and even from where it was almost a mile away the cat could hear the crunch and rumble of the impact which made it wince in sympathy. The black cat began to run in the direction of the harsh landing.

She soon arrived at the edge of a clearing where the person had impacted with the ground and was slightly shocked to see a tall blonde haired teenager getting out of the large crater seemingly unfazed by a landing that would kill a normal person.

The strange teen looked around for a moment before beginning to talk to himself. "Hmm, better explore eh, Kyuubi? Kyuubi? Oh right the sword. He's still asleep until I can find…"

The boy nodded to himself and made a cross shape sign with his pointer and middle fingers. He then frowned and dropped his hands and tried again, his eyes glazed over before opening wide "Crap, I don't even have enough youki for a Kage Bunshin with the sword asleep!"

The blonde seemed to faze out again as the cat watched on in amazement, _"Hmm, this isn't good. I can feel that this body is as strong and fast as my old Jounin body but without my youki I'm in trouble…I can't even switch to my demon body until I awaken the Zanpaku-to!"_

Naruto then raised his hand and gathered all the youki he could, "Well if I at least have my sword I can do something…" in that moment there was a small flash of red and black light from his hand that caught the cat completely by surprise.

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"How about you Orihime? What did you draw?" asked a girl with mid-length light brown hair.

"EhEhEh…I was hoping you'd ask. In fact I'm secretly proud of it!" said a stunningly beautiful girl with long orange hair and ample assets as she held up a picture that was clearly a giant robot version of herself.

"My max speed 380 KM/H! Flames of 20,000 c shoot from the mouth and special destruct-to beams fire from the eyes…"

"The project isn't like that Orihime! That's different!" cried the girl with brown hair as another girl with short black hair said.

"Y…you want to get detention again?" only for Orihime to look on with an innocent yet confused face until someone walked through the door of the classroom.

"Good morning Kurosaki-kun!"

"Hey!" replied Ichigo with a taught smile, "Morning Inoue."

"Wha…what was that? Ichigo's in a real good mood today? Isn't he Orihime?" asked the girl with brown hair.

"Why…is Kurosaki-kun so tense…?" asked Orihime only to receive a confused look from her brunet friend.

"Eh…? What are you talking about? That's the first time I've seen him smile like that?"

"Michiru…what day is today?" asked Tatsuki as she stood from her chair.

"Eh? It's June the 16th. Why?" asked the brunet as she looked on.

"Orihime…you're really amazing…it took me three year to see what you just did." said Tatsuki as she turned away from the questioning faces of her friends, "If you have some urgent business with Ichigo finish it today…because he…will be taking tomorrow off…"

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When the light cleared in Naruto's hand was a katana but it seemed to have a wider blade then a normal Katana even while in its sheath. If it was only slightly wider at the tip it could have been compared to a Chinese broad sword, "So this is what it looks like?" thought Naruto aloud as he drew the blade. The sheath was a polished black with a bronze end cap. The guard was also bronze with a hexagon shape that flowed into a handle tightly wrapped in black cloth that also flowed into a bronze cap at the base of the handle. The blade was a gunmetal color with silver edge that seemed to glow compared to the dark grey color.

"Hmm, not bad at all…I could really get used to this." commented Naruto as he took a few practice swings with his new weapon. Naruto nodded to himself when suddenly he sensed something behind him. He instantly jumped more then 20 feet back in a single go as he was faced by some monster with a white bone like face. The creature seemed humanoid but crawled on all fours.

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The cat watched the blonde as he seemed to create the sword that strangely enough looked like a zanpaku-to. The feline hissed when a large white faced creature appeared behind the blonde boy. The kid snapped out of it and turned around facing the creature, the cat watched in some surprise as the boy leapt over 20 feet back with pure muscle power.

Naruto watched the creature warily as it stared at him until it spoke in a deep and off tone voice that reminded Naruto far too much of Zetsu, "**Hmm you have much energy I'm going to enjoy eating your soul!" **

Naruto's eyes widened at the thought of it eating his soul and this gave the creature a chance to strike. It launched itself at Naruto and he just managed to dive out of the way by pure reflex. His body was sore from the fall and this body had limits he wasn't used to. By force of will he was able to kick out hard sending the creature flying in the air causing it to land hard on the ground a good distance away. Slowly the bone faced creature was able to climb back to its feet growling the whole time.

Naruto then heard a deep voice "To kill it you have to smash its mask…"

Naruto didn't know who had said that since it had definitely not been Kyuubi so he decided to follow its advice but how to break the mask. The monster launched itself at him again with its long tongue flapping in the wind as it soared towards him.

"_Shit…without my youki I'm too limited…I almost broke my leg just now when I kicked that thing. I still have my strength but this body can't take the damage using it causes without my youki to absorb the repercussive damage and heal it…I know the Shinigami said not to use this but I don't have another choice…"_ thought Naruto as he tightened his grip on his sword.

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After seeing what Naruto had done to the Hollow so far the cat decided to give him the chance to fight off the creature alone. She had seen many physically strong beings in her time but the amount of force behind that kick was…impressive. Even for Hollow which commonly had greater physical strength from their size. The cat watched as the kid readied himself as the monster launched itself at him. She watched carefully as the blonde teen stood perfectly still and just seemed to be waiting for the beast. Just before the cat was about to move she saw the blade of the sword glow an eerie red and with a primal roar Naruto swung the sword up in a flash of crimson.

As the cat regained her focus she saw the clean slice right through the center of the Hollows mask. That had settled it. Even if the boy had the spiritual power to see and interact with the Hollow only a Zanpaku-to could cut a Hollow's mask. She was sure of it now. Some how this boy had the powers of a Shinigami even though he was clearly a human…

Before the mask even has a chance to slide apart the blonde teen struck with suck great force that half of his arm was cleanly buried inside the creature's head. But this was not what had the cat's attention. Not only was the Hollow being purified as if it had been struck down by a zanpaku-to but the sword in question that was once glowing a pale red was now covered in a blanket of black mist...

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Naruto smirked to himself as he drove his fist straight through the creatures mask after slicing cleanly through it as if it wasn't even there. He had to marvel at the power of his new sword. After punching the thing he knew the mask was nothing to mess with and yet his blade had passed through it effortlessly. The creature screamed and seemed to fade away into dust to Naruto's satisfaction but he didn't have time to pat himself for a job well done when the unknown voice spoke again "Well that was unexpected…"

He spun around as he took a ready stance with his sword raised in front of himself and spotted the voices owner…a cat.

"You're a…cat?" asked Naruto as he relaxed and sheathed his sword.

"Yes I am. Is there a problem with that?" asked the cat as it sat on its haunches.

"Well wouldn't be the first time I've met a talking animal, what's your name?" asked Naruto as he started to look over his body.

The cat nearly face faulted at the fact this wasn't Naruto's first time encountering a talking animal, _"_Uh, my name is Shihouin Yoruichi."

"Wow, not even Gamakichi has a family name. If you're a summon then you must be really high level."

"Who, and what do you mean by a summon?" asked the cat as it cocked its head to the side.

"Oh well you see…are you a summon creature?" asked Naruto as he placed his sword next to him as he sat on the ground before the cat.

"No I've never heard of summons before. I mean I know what 'summon' means but I don't know what you mean by summon…"

"Oh, then what are you? Or can all cats in this world talk and what was that thing that just tried to eat my soul?" Naruto then scans his surroundings while still listening intently to the cat. If there was one of those Hollow things then were bound to be more and it greatly unnerved him that he never sensed the first, _"5000 years and I have never been surprised like that…not since I was a genin. This world will be fun…"_

Yoruichi sweat dropped at his obvious excitement over a hollow, "I'm special and that…was a Hollow."

"Hmm, so that was a Hollow? For some reason I thought they would look different?" suddenly Naruto seemed to become more aware of what was around him especially the cat he was talking to. _"There's something different about this cat…I wonder…"_

"_This boy knows about Hollows but has never seen one? He's obviously a human but he clearly has a Zanpaku-to…even Kurosaki has to leave his body to wield his…what is this boy?" _thought Yoruichi as she looked Naruto over.

Naruto suddenly froze as he took a few more whiffs of air and gave her a sly look, "I bet you're special…what do you really look like? You don't smell like a cat in the least…you smell more like a girl…"

Yoruichi froze and stared at the boy in shock, he had seen through her transformation. She smirked inwardly already planning to figure out exactly who this boy was but for now she would have some fun scaring him out of his whit's.

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Naruto watched as the small black cat was surrounded by white smoke and the cats shadow began to change shape in the mist and suddenly a woman was standing before him.

She was tall slightly taller than him at his current age with chocolate colored skin, yellow colored eyes and long dark purple hair. He then noticed something he hadn't seen in nearly a millennium…she was completely naked and his eyes widened as he took in her near flawless skin and large breasts with darkly colored nipples. He couldn't help but let a seductive smile cross his face. No matter how much he hated to admit it all those years with Jiraiya had rubbed off…

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Yoruichi smirked a she watched the strange teenager in front of her examine her appearance. She grinned in anticipation of a sudden, large, and powerful nosebleed when she saw his eyes widen. However she was also taking him into appraisal. He was tall nearly as tall as her. It was obvious that when he stopped growing he would tower over her. He had long blonde hair that reached his shoulders and thin whisker like lines on his cheeks that were almost unnoticeable if it wasn't for the right light. His eyes where a deep blue, a vibrant and incredible color they seemed to look into her soul. All in all he was…_ "He's cute…if only he were a little older…"_

Her eyes in turn widened when he smiled in a seductive way. There was a sudden rush of movement and Yoruichi gasped as she was slammed into a tree and pinned there by the teens body. He was looking right in her eyes and she was mesmerized by the look he was giving her. She would later berate herself, ashamed that someone as powerful and skilled as her got lost in some handsome teen's eyes...

"Want to play Neko-chan?" asked Naruto in a deep voice only to have Yoruichi gasp as she glared daggers at him, _"If this is how this world is going to be I think I'm really going to like it…but I better be careful. No reason to get the only…person I know mad at me." _

Just as Naruto was about to release her from his hold Yoruichi disappeared with out so much as a shimmer which shocked Naruto to no end, _"What? Where did she go? I was even holding her so how could I have lost her?"_

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As Yoruichi watched the boy from a high branch she couldn't help but smirk at the way he seemed to be searching for her. The boy at first seemed to be shocked, disappointed, and to her surprise angry as he scanned the forest for her. After a moment he began to sniff the air as if he was trying to track her like a dog. She couldn't help but watch from her spot in fascination.

"_This guy is just...he's cute for sure, has a great body, bright smile and is defiantly playful but that sword and the fact that he said I didn't smell like a cat has me worried. He's even sniffing me out now. I sense some reiatsu from him but not nearly enough to be a Shinigami or to have the power to smash that Hollow like that. I really should just watch him for a while to see what I can find out but maybe there is a better way to find out what I want. He does seem playful…maybe I could use that to my advantage…"_

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Seeing the beautiful and naked woman disappear from in front of him had Naruto not only rather disappointed but rather angry with himself, _"Damn it, it's been nearly 900 years since my last…play time, but that could have been considered rape if she hadn't disappeared just now! I guess the body doesn't matter. Demon instinct is still a little over whelming…"_

As Naruto seemed to consider his options as he began to head in the direction of the city seeing that he was in a forest inside a small housing district in a world he knew nearly nothing about and he had just chased off the first person he had met.

"Well that was certainly a surprise."

Naruto slowly turned to see Yoruichi perched on a branch above his head still as…modest as ever, "Um…I'm sorry about before…I guess my…instincts got away from me…" said Naruto as a light blush formed on his cheeks. He may have spent many a night with beautiful women over the years but from where Yoruichi was perched it gave a view even he wasn't used to.

As Yoruichi allowed a soft giggle to pass he lips she said, "Not that you're not cute but you just seem a little young for me…" she then slid off the branch as smoke once again surrounded her form returning her to her cat form, "Now it seems you're a little lost. If you agree to answer a few questions for me I'd be happy to help…and maybe we could play later." she finished with a wink and a small twitch of her whiskers.

Naruto only smirked lightly as he said, "You have a deal as long as it's not math…and by the way I very much doubt that you're older then me…"

"_If only he knew how old I was…but still he was the first one ever to rush me after I transformed…"_ thought Yoruichi as she turned and began heading back through the think forests, "Follow me and we can talk."

Naruto only smirked lightly as he followed behind the small black cat with his sword firmly in hand, _"Well, I guess things are turning out all right to start with…I'm not dead yet anyway…"_

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What do you all think? I know these chapters are no where near the length of 'Demonic Nemesis' but I'm still getting a feeling for how I'm going to work everything out and hopefully the shorter chapters may let me update this more frequently then I had planned.

The chapters will most likely get longer as I get a feel for what Naruto is going to do here. Also updates for DN should be coming soon. My beta is having some trouble at work so the updates will be coming slowly for a little while…


	3. Chapter 3

Ch.3 New Bonds or Not?

By DarkFayt

**THE LAST TWO CHAPTERS HAVE BEEN REWRITTEN AND REFORMATTED TO MAKE THEM EASIER TO READ AND EXPLAIN THE HISTORY BETTER. You can go back and reread or not. All you would gain is an understanding of when Naruto is appearing in the 'Bleach' time line and…well it would be better to just reread it and I promise no more rewrites…I just had originally written this to pass the time but now I'm actually going to put some focus on it!**

It seems that the note I left at the top of the last chapter was not enough for a few people so I will dumb this down just to be perfectly clear to those in…need. Which I assume are very few but hey.

About 800 words from last chapter came from the fic **'The Strawberry and the Fishcake'** by **Uncle Joe**. With his permission I used a small section of his fic to get me started and motivated to write my own Naruto/Bleach fic. I do this often to help with my writing. I **ALWAYS** have permission to use what I do. The writer in question always approves long before I ever post and I give as much credit as is due. I just wanted to make it clear. Thanks and I hope you enjoy the fic.

"Normal Talking"

"**Demonic talking"**

"_Thinking"_

"_**Kyuubi talking/thinking"**_

"HIGHER BEING talking"

**Jutsu or Sp. Power/Attack being used**

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**(Last Time…)**

_As Yoruichi allowed a soft giggle to pass he lips she said, "Not that you're not cute but you just seem a little young for me…" she then slid off the branch as smoke once again surrounded her form returning her to her cat form, "Now it seems you're a little lost. If you agree to answer a few questions for me I'd be happy to help…and maybe we could play later." she finished with a wink and a small twitch of her whiskers._

_Naruto only smirked lightly as he said, "You have a deal as long as it's not math…and by the way I very much doubt that your older then me."_

"_If only he knew how old I was…but still he was the first one ever to rush me after I transformed…" thought Yoruichi as she turned and began heading back through the think forests, "Follow me and we can talk."_

_Naruto only smirked lightly as he followed behind the small black cat with his sword firmly in hand, "Well, I guess things are turning out all right to start with…I'm not dead yet anyway…"_

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Naruto hummed lightly as he looked down from a large hillside that looked over Karakura town. A part of the city called Tokyo from what he had gotten Yoruichi to tell him. He was actually getting slightly annoyed that she seemed to refuse to talk to him as they walked but then he realized that a talking cat was most likely strange to begin with without it explaining the basics of the world to a boy so he decided to wait and just list his questions for later.

Naruto was very glad that where ever he was that his ability to speak to and understand pretty much anything still seemed to work. He had been lucky he guessed…it never really mattered in his world because he rarely traveled out of 'Fire Country' let alone the 'Elemental Continent' but he could already feel how massive this world was compared to his own…he would most likely thank Kyuubi to no end for the power he always thought useless.

He followed the cat woman down a steep hill as they entered the town. The town was almost ridiculously complex and large with so many strange things but he supposed he would have to get used to it over time, _"Most likely will need a map…"_ For now he simple took his time to catalogue the different sounds and smells to attach to all the new things he was finding.

He settled on ignoring most of the different things he wanted to gawk at though…so he could look normal and fit in even though his clothes still seemed to gain him unwanted attention from the few people still out, _"Note: shinobi style clothes are not the norm here…I'll have to get Yoruichi to show me some different clothes for me to add…"_, said Naruto as he focused what little youki he could so he could alter his clothes to something more normal. Since it was night now it didn't really matter. They were taking all back streets but it was still good practice to stay unnoticed.

Yoruichi froze and looked back towards Naruto when she sensed an energy that was far to similar to a Hollows for her liking but what she saw had her cocking her head in confusion. Naruto had stopped right in front of a poster for a local punk-rock band. As he stared intently into the poster the red energy that seemed to flow from his like water began to seep into his clothes. It almost seemed that his clothes pulsed with the crimson energy as he stared intently at the poster.

Just as Yoruichi was about to question Naruto she watched in amazement as his once black sandals seemed to stretch and meld with his pants and the rest of his clothing seemed to stretch together as well until it resembled a black jump suit. Then just as quickly as it had happened the black seemed to evaporate leaving Naruto standing in average black shoes, faded and ripped jeans, a loose fitting black shirt and black leather bands around his wrists. As Naruto slowly took himself into account Yoruichi seemed to slowly approach as if he would attack at a moments notice but what sent her off the wall is that Naruto turned straight t her and smiled in a way that completely dispersed the oppressive energy that had been hanging in the air as he asked, "So what do you think Yoruichi-san? Is this a little more fitting? I was getting a little nervous with all the stares so I thought it would be a good idea to change my clothes to something more normal…"

Yoruichi, completely forgetting that she was still in her cat form stared between Naruto and the poster as she asked, "How…did you do that? And what was that feeling just now? That energy…"

Naruto frowned as he heard the tone of his new friends voice. If there was one thing he had learned in his life it was when someone was bothered…or scared of something and he could easily tell that something he had done had set her on edge, "Umm…its one of my abilities…my clothes aren't actually clothes. Their a part of me in a way. All I need to do to clean, repair, or change them is to flow some of my youki into them and then focus on what I want." said, Naruto trying to put on the most disarming smile he could as he jabbed his thumb towards the poster, "It's always easier when I have something to look at…"

Yoruichi took a moment to look over Naruto with a critical eye as she simply said, "Youki…" it was then that Naruto realized that he had let something slip he probably shouldn't have, "You mean like demon energy correct?" asked Yoruichi as she continued to drill holes straight into Naruto's.

Naruto took a deep breath…of course this would happen. In his world a demon was an embodiment of evil in every way to people and other than himself he had never met a demon that didn't fit the description perfectly. So even if demons didn't exist in this world like the Shinigami had said they must have still had legends or stories. Some similar view of a demon, _"I guess claiming to be a demon in any world is rather stupid…"_

"Yes, like a demon Yoruichi-san but can this wait until we reach wherever it is you're taking me? I promise to explain everything there…"

She looked on for another moment trying to find any malcontent. Even the slightest deception or sign of insanity but when she found none all she could do was node her head as she turned and said, "They look good on you…just be careful with using…whatever that energy is. It feels horribly similar to a Hollows…you could gain the wrong attention…"

Naruto smiled softly that she had looked at him with a soft and understanding eye. She had looked at him…looked at who he was and not what he was…, _"Just like she did…"_ thought Naruto as he started following Yoruichi again, "Thanks Yoruichi-chan! I was afraid there for a moment. I almost thought you were going to attack me."

She slightly cocked he head back as she said, "I was…"

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Naruto was curious because after all their silent walking they approached an out of the way shop with a sign reading 'Urahara shop'. Naruto watched in interest as Yoruichi changed into her human form once again. Much to his liking and knocked on the door, she kept knocking until footsteps were heard. A kid about 9 or 10 years old with red hair opened the door, he had a grumpy look on his face but immediately stood at attention upon seeing the stark naked woman before him. It took a moment for him to realize what he was looking at but he eventually did the only thing he could do…he fainted dead on the spot after a decent sized nose bleed.

Naruto chuckled as Yoruichi simply stepped over the small boy without a care. Naruto quickly followed her but stopped and picked up the small boy to carry inside the store. Naruto watched as Yoruichi took some clothes off a rack and gestured for Naruto to follow her. They stepped into a small room near the back of the shop which was fairly sparse except for a chair a small desk and a single bed.

"Urahara Kisuke, the owner of this shop leaves this room open incase I stop by. We can relax here until morning so sit down and lets hear your story and don't leave anything out…"

Naruto chuckled and sat in the chair across from her, _"Should I just tell her everything? I mean I don't know anything about her but I do need help in this world and she did take a big step in bringing me here…oh well. You only live once…"_

Yoruichi watched him expectantly as he sighed deeply and began a full and detailed version of his life. He started with being from another alternate world. The fact that there existed not only their two worlds but thousands of possible ones and that it was possible to move through them some how even if he himself didn't know how. After at least partially convincing her of that he went on to explain the basics of his world, his childhood, days as a young shinobi, training, and his ascension to being a demon during the war. It was surprisingly easy for him to retell his tale. He had thought it would be painful and difficult to remember it all but it was as if he was telling an ancient legend or fairy tale…which he figured wasn't too far from the truth since most of the people in his own world considered him a myth…

Yoruichi had more then a little difficulty believing everything she was hearing, the sheer complexity and magnitude of his story was astonishing, not even the idea of multiple possible timelines for the world and the ability to cross in-between them seemed that unrealistic when hearing it from this boy. Who could make up such a thing? The being over five thousand years old had fazed her some since the oldest Shinigami she knew of was only slightly over 2000 and that was Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni himself. She was after all an ex-Shinigami and knew people who were well over a thousand years old but such an age was unheard of and the boy looked no older then 16! He should have aged at least some! She herself was well over five hundred though she never did count it and even she looked to be in her twenties.

His life story, his accomplishments, and his burdens…these were the hardest parts to believe and that in the end…after doing so much and accomplishing such amazing things that he was told he had no more purpose in his own world and was sent away? Just as if he was a tool to be handed off to the next in need of him…it just seemed so wrong…

This though was not the most insane thing to her, oh no what was most insane was that she believed it! All of it…it was just to crazy to be a lie. What had really clinched it for him was his intimate knowledge of Zanpaku-to! Knowledge about Shinigami, Hollow, and Kido had been available to humans for centuries and knowledge of Seireitei and Hueco Mundo was just as common in certain humans so it would be no surprise for a human with spiritual power to know about them but Naruto knew such intricate details about Zanpaku-to. Details about them that only captain level Shinigami were trained in. Shikai, Bankai, even the training methods needed to attain each. Naruto even knew of the different types of Zanpaku-to… _"Either a Shinigami of vice-captain level or higher has told him all this or he really is telling the truth…"_

She groaned as she fell back onto the bed trying to absorb and sort through everything she had just heard, "Tell you what fox-boy, you recap some of this so I can ask a few questions to get some better details until Urahara gets back and I'll not only teach you a little more about this world but I'll get you some help on waking up your friend there…" said Yoruichi as she pointed to Naruto's sword.

"You got a deal as long as you put that shirt on…it's getting a little hard not to jump you and I at least like to know a girl a couple of hours first…" Yoruichi couldn't help but to break out into a fit of laughter…

"_This guy is just too cute…if all this really turns out to be true I may start regretting not staying against that tree…"_

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To say Urahara was surprised at finding Jinta passed out in the main shop on a make shift bed out of clothes was a slight understatement. He was about to prod the boy awake with his cane until he saw a light on in the spare room. It was rare of his old friend to come by more then once a week and she had just been there the night before so he couldn't help but wonder why she had dropped by again.

He was ecstatic as always to see his old friend again as he pushed open the door about to before a hello could escape his lips he froze dead in his tracks. Yes, his childhood friend Yoruichi was there and she was in her human form with only a long black shirt covering her. This though was not the strange part.

What made him freeze was that she was currently staring at the chest of a tall well muscled blonde teen who was naked from the waist up. The same teen was currently smiling at him as if nothing was wrong. He gave the blonde teen a smile and a wink as he sat himself down in the single chair as he chuckled, "Well-well Yoruichi…I never pegged you for one interested in younger men…or children for that fact."

Yoruichi gave a light giggle much to Urahara's dismay as she said, "He's older then you Kisuke…just wait until you hear his story. You'll flip…"

Naruto merely turned to face the mans shocked face as he said, "Yo, name's Namikaze Naruto. If you want to hear my story to that's fine but it would probably be easier if Yoruichi-san here retold it and I just fill in the blanks as we go…its rather long."

"I can see that…it looks like my old friend hasn't slept all night…must be one hell of a story or you two were doing more then talking…" said Urahara as he ran his eyes over the half clothed forms of the two people in the room only to get a soda can thrown at his head by Yoruichi.

Naruto started to laugh fully as he chocked out, "Not that I wouldn't have loved the chance and all but it seems some of my powers are a little haywire at the moment. About half way through the night I ended up losing my clothes and had to grab a pair of pants from your store."

As Urahara glanced at Yoruichi he saw her give a full nod as what appeared to be a light blush stained her cheeks, _"Must have been quite a sight for her to react like that? She's always been a little too at ease…well at least with her own body but now that I think about it in all the years I've known her I don't think I can remember her being with a man? Not that she would tell me anyway…"_

Yoruichi then disappeared into the store for a moment. When she returned she and handed a beer to Urahara and handed Naruto one for himself with a few packages of ramen much to his delight. She couldn't help but smile when he had asked if ramen existed in this world. When she had said yes the comical tears he had shed were just to much. Not to mention when she had given him several cups he had almost crushed her smaller frame in hug.

As she popped open the top of a beer for herself Urahara asked, "Isn't it a little too early for this? It's barely 6am…"

Yoruichi looked dead at him as she took a long drink, "Trust me…by the time we're done her it will be lunch time and you'll be wishing for another…"

Urahara just shrugged his shoulders as he popped his own top and settled in for the story until he heard, "Damn, out of water for my ramen…" before either of them could offer to grab more for Naruto since Yoruichi was rather wary of letting him back into the store after he managed to cause the microwave to explode when he had tried to make his ramen earlier Naruto merely raised his hand into the air as it began to pulse slightly red as small spheres of water seemed to condense out of the air.

Both ex-Shinigami stared on in utter astonishment as Naruto released the water into the open ramen cups and then preceded to raise the cups to his mouth where he took a deep breath and seemed to breath steam into his cups one by one. As both Shinigami turned to look at each other after watching Naruto begin to eat his formerly uncooked ramen Urahara could stand it any more and asked, "How…did you do that?"

Naruto looked up at him with ramen still hanging from his mouth as he asked, "Do what?"

Both Shinigami wanted to smack their head as Yoruichi asked, "You just created water from no where and had to floating in the air and then breathed steam hot enough to cook your ramen…it's not a normal thing to see."

As a look of understanding passed over Naruto's face he said, "That was just a form of elemental manipulation. By altering my energy to a form that matches the energy of a specific element I'm able to draw it to me and allow it to feed off my energy. After the element has come to me I'm able to feed more of my energy into it so I'm able to use it to my liking. It's rather hard to learn but really useful but for some reason the elements seem much weaker here then in my world…"

Both Urahara and Yoruichi had to take a moment to compose themselves…, "So you turned your energy into water?" asked Yoruichi.

"No, all I did was change my energy into a form that the energy of the water could feed off of. As the water in the air came together I was able to feed more energy into the water to create more. After that all I did was continue feeding energy into the water to maintain what I had gathered and manipulate it for what I needed but for the amount of energy I just put out I should have had enough for a small pond and all I got was a few bubbles…"

Both Yoruichi and Urahara shared a look that clearly said, _"Leave it alone for now but find out more later…"_

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**(Several hours later…)**

Urahara just couldn't believe it, mostly it was the fact that Yoruichi believed it! The simple idea of it all had his mind nearly exploding with all the possibilities Naruto had opened and did open. It took a lot of time to explain it all and Urahara was more then willing to listen and discuss the workings of jutsu, seals, and shinobi in general.

So many new ideas came to him but the one thing that he had been severely disappointed about was the fact that most of the jutsu Naruto attempted to show him were either rather useless to a Shinigami, failed completely or were far below the power Naruto had described.

What it had finally come down to was that it seemed since there were so many more people in this world and the energies of nature were so much weaker that his jutsu in turn were far weaker even with the boost in power Naruto's unique way of casting them did. Naruto explained that a normal shinobi changes their chakra to the element type they want and then channel more into it to determine the use and power of the jutsu. Naruto himself drew on the power of nature itself and offered his own energy to strengthen them. He said normally his jutsu were far above the level of a normal shinobi but since there was nothing for him to draw on here his jutsu were basically useless.

Urahara had asked if he couldn't use jutsu like normal shinobi but Naruto had instantly said that because his youki while like chakra was far denser and difficult to fully change into an element. That's why he used his power in tune with nature just as other demons did. While being extremely disappointed that he couldn't look deeper into these new powers Urahara had gotten 2 rather interesting pieces of information he wanted to experiment with more then any other though:

Using hand seals to form the energy for Kido instead of incantations…

And seeing these higher level jutsu that didn't rely on elements once Naruto's Zanpaku-to awakened and more of Naruto's power returned to him.

The idea of learning all this had Urahara almost skipping and all Naruto asked for in return was to be taught of the world, someone to help awaken Kyuubi, and maybe be shown some Kido!

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Urahara decided to introduced Naruto to the others who worked and lived in the store. Yoruichi and Urahara had decided it would be better to only tell others that Naruto was old and powerful and to leave the rest to him unless it was need to know. It would be hard enough to get others to believe it let alone to explain it another time.

The morning did have some shocks however…Naruto had been freaked out by a blender when Jinta had turned it on next to him, blew up a microwave when he tried to cook ramen in a pan, and set a TV on fire when someone turned on.

Jinta had been unable to look at Yoruichi all day after seeing her the night before. Naruto couldn't blame the kid on bit since he himself was still having some trouble keeping the image from his mind but he couldn't help but to chuckle as he listened when Ururu had mentioned it.

Jinta's face lit up a brilliant red that nearly matched his hair as he had began to hit her as he pulled her hair. Naruto only watched this for a moment before his temper flared. It was so fast that not even Yoruichi had seen it but there it was right in front of Jinta's face. Naruto had drawn his sword with such speed and placed the flat of the blade before Jinta's face that the boy didn't dare move. The raw force of the motion had blown over several items on the table. As Urahara and Yoruichi tensed they both looked on as Naruto drilled his eyes crimson slit eyes into Jinta's…

Naruto just continued eating with his one hand until Jinta finally released Ururu's hair. With a simple turn of his wrist Naruto had seamlessly sheathed his sword once again and returned to eating as if nothing had happened until after about 3 minutes of silence Yoruichi asked, "Umm, Naruto what was up with that?"

Naruto looked up for a moment and simply said, "You shouldn't treat someone like that for something so trivial as a little teasing. Especially a boy to a girl…it's just not right."

As everyone at the table blinked a few times Jinta just seemed to stare at Naruto as if he had just turned pink. Finally Ururu squeeked out a small 'thank you' only to receive a wide grin in return from Naruto…

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The next few hours were spent learning about everything Naruto could imagine from cars to toothpaste and especially the joys of pizza bagels. Naruto had decided he liked this world a hell of a lot. It had many things do learn of and discover and the fact they had ramen just made things better.

Naruto sighed slightly as he finally returned to the shop and settled down in the sole chair in the room. Urahara and Yoruichi had said they needed to tell him something when he got back from his tour of the city.

He sat and watched as the Yoruichi stretched in a very feline manner on the bed, Urahara was leaning against the wall, as he began to rock back and forth in the chair. He supposed it was fair, they had to take in he was from another world and was a five thousand year old ninja/demon but it still bugged him that he had to hear all this over again. The Shinigami had already explained the different realm, powers, and history of this world and he barely understood it the first time! Now he had to hear it again but at least not he was getting more specifics. Naruto pondered the idea of a large force of Shinigami instead of just one, he decided that since he had heard the same thing before that it had to be true but for them to number in the thousands?

Naruto had a solemn look on his face as he asked, "Well…what should I do now with my life? I could go and see if I could work for Soul Society or maybe go explore the Hueco Mundo place…I can't live off of you forever Urahara…"

Urahara spoke with a strangely strong resolve in his normal sing-song voice, "Since you appear to be fifteen you should go to school. It's hard for someone under the age of eighteen to live on their own. This world has laws that place the age of being an adult at eighteen and until then there is little you can do on your own. Also school would be the best place to not only learn about this world but to meet other humans. You may not be human but your not a Shinigami either…I'll set you up with the necessary paperwork and you can work here in your spare time to earn money so you can own your own apartment. Also once we're done here we can take care of waking up your sword for you. It will take a day or two to set you up at school and I can even fix you up with an apartment for now if you agree to come work for me. What do you say?"

Naruto was stunned "Why are you going to do all this for me Kisuke? I've known you for like 7 hours and yet you're doing all this? I can understand teaching me and even giving me food but that I could chock up to curiosity…"

"Two reasons, one Yoruichi would most likely hurt me very badly if I didn't…she seems to not only be curious about you but she seems to have taken a liking to you." Naruto smiled warmly as said woman smirked back at him, "Second, I'm very curious about you, what I can learn from you, how powerful you will be, even just how someone like you lives. I can sense your power and it honestly has me on edge…it's different…I'm a scientist at heart and I want to figure you out."

Naruto gained a slight edge to his blue eyes as he looked into Urahara's, "Not to mention it would be handy to have me on your side…" this caught both of them off guard, "Don't think I'm blind either. Kami-sama sent me to this world for some reason so I know there's something going on here that goes deeper then Hollows. I may not be able to sense spirit energy yet but I can see in your eyes how powerful the two of you are and the fact that every other person in this shop isn't an ordinary human…I really don't care what your stories are at this point. You can tell me when you want me to know but if you want me to fight for you I'll be here…"

"Wait…what? You just went through that whole speech and you don't even want answers?" asked Yoruichi as she stood stock still thinking she would have to convince him.

Naruto only chuckled darkly as he said, "I'm a trained shinobi…a killer for hire. Following orders and completing the mission is a part of who I am. As long as the orders themselves and the one giving the orders are to my liking then I'll follow them through without question. It's not like I have any mission or goal in this world…there's not even anything I want. You two are giving me everything I need. Food, shelter, money…what else do I need? It's the same reason I followed orders back in my genin days so why not here? The only reason I ever went against orders was to protect the ones important to me and the closest thing I have to that here are the people in this shop anyway…"

The other two just shared blank stares for a moment as it finally hit them what kind of being sat before them…an ancient demon that had fought in a war they couldn't even imagine and even forced a Kami back into the fires of hell. A being with no desires or ties to anything. A power that was waiting for a purpose.

Both Yoruichi and Urahara shared the same thought as they looked into those deep blue eyes, _"If that power is waiting for a purpose…why shouldn't I be the one to give it a purpose…"_

Finally Naruto moved to the bed that Yoruichi laid upon mere moments ago and fell on it as if he had reached the end of his day. With a deep breath and a smile on his face as he stared back into Yoruichi's eyes he said, "I think I'm really going to like this world…I really do…"

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Ok what do you all think? I know these chapters are shorter then DN and there hasn't been much action yet but just wait. Next chapter will be out soon and there's a good fight scene coming!

Please review and let me know what you think! And as before I don't care about my grammar or spelling in this fic so please don't review to flame me about it…


	4. Chapter 4

Ch.4 Purpose 

By DarkFayt

Ok, here is chapter 4 and chapter 5 will be coming soon. I decided to aim for 5000-10,000 words a chapter for this fic. If you have only read the Bleach manga you will probably not figure out where Naruto has entered the Bleach time line until late this chapter or next chapter. If you've seen the anime then you will catch on rather quickly. I hope you all enjoy and as always if you have a comment about the story or have an idea for me I can't wait to hear it! If you have a grimmer or spelling problem I don't care…

I wanted another fic where all I need to do is write and post as I like. Before I got had the chapters beta'ed 'Demonic Nemesis' was being updated almost weekly but now it's lucky to get an update a month and I really hate that but soooo many people complained about the little mistakes that well here we are. My beta by all reason rocks but for a 15-20 thousand word chapter takes time…so expect updates monthly for that fic but this one will be more regular!

"Normal Talking"

"**Demonic talking"**

"_Thinking"_

"_**Kyuubi talking/thinking"**_

"HIGHER BEING talking"

**Jutsu or Sp. Power/Attack being used**

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**(Last Time…)**

_The other two just shared blank stares for a moment as it finally hit them what kind of being sat before them…an ancient demon that had fought in a war they couldn't even imagine and even forced a Kami back into the fires of hell. A being with no desires or ties to anything. A power that was waiting for a purpose._

_Both Yoruichi and Urahara shared the same thought as they looked into those deep blue eyes, "If that power is waiting for a purpose…why shouldn't I be the one to give it a purpose…"_

_Finally Naruto moved to the bed that Yoruichi laid upon mere moments ago and fell on it as if he had reached the end of his day. With a deep breath and a smile on his face as he stared back into Yoruichi's eyes and said, "I think I'm really going to like this world…I really do…"_

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"So…Sandal-hat…how do you plan to transfer reiatsu to my sword? I doubt it's as easy as I would hope…" asked Naruto as he stood across from Urahara with his own sword drawn.

Naruto for one of the first times in many centuries was shocked when he had entered a small room in the shop and was told to climb down a latter in the floor. This though was not the part that had shocked him. It was that there was an entire other world under this tiny shop! The entire area reminded him a little too much of Iwa for his liking. He had always loved the forests and always detested Iwa for the barren land that made the country up. Here was no different…nothing but rock and dust but when he was told it was a training area he could understand the sparse nature and sky blue painted walls. No reason to put all the work into a lush area to only destroy it.

"Well Naruto-san, since it appears your ways of fighting are rather…underpowered here it seems that we need to see what does work…" said Urahara as he slid the handle of his cane away from the bottom to reveal a thin straight blade.

Naruto studied the strange weapon for a moment, "Hmm, I suppose that means you're some sort of Shinigami…that Zanpaku-to has a rather ominous feel to it…"

Urahara was shocked and it was evident by his hanging jaw as he looked toward Naruto's smiling face, "How did you know that this was a Zanpaku-to? You haven't been able to sense spiritual power yet have you?"

Naruto only smiled as he said, "In my world certain people had powerful eyes with abilities you could only dream of. I never was one of them even though I tried to gain the same abilities but after becoming a demon I gained the power of illusion in many forms and my control over wind increased to exponential levels. Because of this I was able to train my already powerful eyes to watch for the subtle movements in the air when something is effecting it…"

"So by me drawing my sword you were able to tell what it was from the air moving around it?" asked Urahara in shock. What such a perception could do in a battle was astounding.

"No, the fact that nothing happened is what told me…" everyone was looking at Naruto expectantly for an answer. Yoruichi in particular was interested in how he could have seen the truth so easily, "When I first met Yoruichi in the forest she had used the 'Shunpo' technique you told me about. When she used that there was no displacement of air from the energy. None what so ever. If it wasn't for the fact she herself was solid and had a scent I never would have known she was there. As far as I can tell this spirit energy Shinigami use has very little to no effect on physical objects unless it was meant to affect them…or in your case Sandals…if the Shinigami is in a human form…when you moved your arm you displaced air but your sword did not so it's safe to say that you channel your reiatsu to your sword only…"

Yoruichi had been watching from a near by rock with the other workers from the shop. She had been listening to it all from when Urahara had explained the finer points of Kido and other Shinigami arts as they descended into the training room. The fact that had her stumped though was Naruto's total lack of surprise to anything he was being told. Someone that was awed by a phone of all things had little interest in the arts of Kido. It almost seemed ridiculous. Like when some children receive a new toy and end up playing with the box…but then she had to remember that for someone like Naruto…maybe the thought of learning to fight all over again wasn't the most joyous of things…maybe the thought of fighting at all?

Urahara had to let out a loud fit of laughter as he looked at Naruto's smiling face, "Well Naruto-san you are both right and wrong at the same time. It is true that most spiritual beings cannot affect those still in human or…physical forms in the sense. It is possible though." the only outward sign that Naruto was even the slightest bit interested was the slight rise of an eyebrow and a strange clicking sound that seemed to come from deep in his throat.

As Urahara shook off his own interest at the sound he said, "There is a classic rule that is taught in the Shinigami academy the first day…to be affected by reiatsu one must posses reiatsu first. Beings such as normal humans, lesser Hollows, and Plus souls have so little spiritual power that they cannot affect anything other then beings with the same or close to the same power."

"So for reiatsu to affect something the beings either need to have close to the same power or be powerful enough to negate the rule is what your getting at right? If that's so then how powerful does something need to be to negate the rule?" asked Naruto as he tightened his grip on his sword.

Urahara looked on with a serious expression that almost set Naruto off balance for a moment, "There is a point where a spiritual being will start to emit a sort of aura of energy no matter how hard they try to not do so. Once an object or being enters another's aura they can be affected as if they themselves had reiatsu…I believe you noticed the distortion and slight pressure when that Hollow attacked you right?" At that moment Naruto felt as if a weight had been set on him…it was irritating…as if he was trying to move in water.

"This pressure…what is it?" asked Naruto as he began moving his body parts slowly…

"Hmm, a captain level reiatsu and only a limit on motor function?" said Urahara as he approached Naruto and began to walk around him, "This is what happens when I place me will along with increasing my spiritual output. This force you feel on you is my own will fighting against yours…I expected you to not be able to move…you're more powerful then I had thought…but it seems to be mostly your youki infused muscle that's keeping you standing," then as the pressure disappeared as quickly as it came Urahara continued by saying, "You see humans have no spiritual power to speak of and the ones that do are rare. Demi-hollow are plus souls on their way to becoming hollows or merely the souls too weak to become a full hollow, and as you know plus souls are the souls of humans that have died or have some how been separated from their bodies. In this form a plus soul may begin to absorb surrounding spirit particles for one of three reasons…"

Naruto looked on with interest as he listened to Urahara, _"That pressure was interesting…it's similar to when air is saturated with chakra…but that's more of a discomfort. This was as if I was trying to move in water and if that's what it does to a jounin what would someone weaker do? Hmm, I wonder if there would be a way to use killing intent along with that spiritual pressure…"_

"The first reason is to sustain its self until a Shinigami arrives…"

"Second is when they are in preparation to someday become a Shinigami themselves after the academy…"

"Or…to descend into becoming a Hollow…"

"Umm, what are spirit particles?" asked Naruto as he was caught sitting on the ground with a small note book he had gotten from somewhere scribbling down notes.

"_Nice to see I finally have his interest,"_ Thought Urahara as he continued to explain, "That Naruto-san is where my final lesson for the day begins. The three types of spiritual power. The Hollows, a Shinigami, and spirit particles…" Urahara then motioned Yoruichi to come forward and stand next to him.

This was actually the first time Naruto had taken Yoruichi into full account since well…it was hard to look at her clothed and not imagine her unclothed. Today though he found it rather odd how she could look just as stunning fully covered. She wore what looked like some sort of soft boots with leg warmers over them with tight form fitting black pants. It seemed she also wore a long sleeved high neck black shirt with to his surprise an orange robe style shirt with white material on the shoulders. The only other thing Naruto was able to observe other then Yoruichi's smirking expression at catching him scanning her rather intensely was that her long hair was pulled into a high pony tail…, _"Note to self: go get laid before you do something you regret…"_

Urahara then took a hold of his cane sword as Yoruichi raised her open palm in front of her…in only a moment it seemed as if small particles began to form in the air and gather in her hand. They looked so similar to broken glass that Naruto almost thought she would hurt herself but he thought it safer to just watch, _"She doesn't seem the stupid type…it must be a form of…"_

"This Naruto is an example of spirit particles. Spirit particles are what appear when raw spirit energy is gathered. Shinigami and Hollow both absorb these particles innately without even knowing of it to increase their power as their own strength grows. Because of their raw form very few can manipulate them let alone use them. In actuality they have little to no effect other then being the original source of power to instigate the change of a soul into either a Hollow or Shinigami." Explained Urahara as Yoruichi finally released the small sphere of particles she had gathered.

Naruto had watched it all with interest but what had him worried was what he had felt from that small sphere and even more so what he could see in Yoruichi's eyes. She was exhausted from gathering that little amount of spirit particles…, _"For such a small amount she had to exert such an effort…and she seems so strong but what worries me is that small amount was almost…almost too similar to what I felt from the Shinigami of my world…could it be that the former Shinigami of this world released his power into the world itself? I wonder if the way a Shinigami or Hollow is created is simply the ones that can absorb the original Shinigami's left over power during their life and then transform after death?"_

"Awaken Benihime…" said Urahara pulling Naruto out of his musings as Urahara's once ordinary cane began to glow a crimson red faster then even Naruto could see. As the light faded Naruto took the changes into account. The blade had extended and widened but that was the smaller changes. The cane handle had disappeared and been replaced by an ornate gold one that angled slightly with a long red tassel at the end.

"So that's your Shikai Urahara…it's impressive to say the least…" said Naruto with slight awe in his voice as he stood and tensed his muscles as he started to feel the same pressure begin to bear down on him again.

Urahara let a wide grin slip onto his face now that he had finally found something other then a toaster to impress the blonde, "This is an example of a Shinigami's energy. I think you understand this the best since it was what we explained to you before." With a solid nod from Naruto Urahara continued by saying, "I'm afraid that I have no way of showing an example of Hollow energy other then having you produce your own Youki…"

Naruto look interested and also insulted at hearing that, "Are you saying the I'm similar to those brainless beasts Sandal-Hat?" asked Naruto with a taught smirk as his eyes flashed between red and blue and something hit Urahara that he had never experienced before and he almost couldn't breath for a moment as a red aura seemed to gather around Naruto. Urahara actually fell to one knee for a moment before the feeling faded and he looked up to see a gasping Naruto with sweat dripping down his face.

"What-what was that?" asked Urahara with a look of fear on his face. A look Yoruichi hadn't seen since they were children but for some reason she was torn? Her childhood friend seemed…fazed but yet Naruto seemed to not be much better off. For reasons even she didn't understand she didn't know which to go to…

"That was called 'Killing Intent'…it's when I release my energy into the air and use it to carry my intensions on it…whether you see it, feel it, or sense it…it works all the same but I nearly used all my chakra to affect you with this reiatsu in the air…"

"_What a terrifying ability? If he can affect a captain with his Shikai released at this level with his full power still cut off…what will he be able to do once he's been freed? Is this something I should even allow to happen?" _thought Urahara to himself as he looked on at the seemingly 15 year old boy before him. For once he couldn't even guess what his actions may bring about, _"No, all he needs to awaken his power is a burst of reiatsu from a Zanpaku-to. Even if I didn't give it to him he would find it somewhere else…I need to watch him longer and helping him is the best way to gather information…his Zanpaku-to is in the same stage as that of a final year student at the academy…it would awaken anyway given enough time."_

Urahara easily stood after his moment of rest and waited for Naruto to do the same, "Well I guess I'll leave the explanation of your energy compared to a Hollows for another day. Right now I believe we should just move along to awakening your Zanpaku-to since it will take about a week to fully awaken…"

Naruto's eye was fully twitching when he heard this and even Yoruichi seemed to back away from him as the clicking sound returned to him full force but unlike before when it was slow and low it was a high pitch that emanated from Naruto's throat so quickly it reminded her of a saccade…

"You mean you've known it will take that long and yet instead of getting it started you've been playing around and going through lectures?" asked Naruto. Here he was in a new world with beings that supposedly could fight evenly with him at five tails and almost none of his abilities worked and his only hope was to awaken his sword and he was being led around by his nose all this time?

"Well…yes but I did not think it would be such a problem? You did need to learn about this world and about the finer points of Shinigami issues…I also said it would take time to prepare didn't I?" asked Urahara.

Naruto could only drop his head as he seemed to sulk for a moment. As the others seemed to move away from the area he couldn't help but start to feel a little nervous because that same oppressive aura was returning, "So what do we need to do for this Urahara?" asked Naruto.

Urahara only raised his sword in front of him before swinging it to his side with a call of, "Sing Benihime!" with another powerful swing of his blade a crimson energy leapt from the blade and began tearing through the ground heading in Naruto's direction.

As the crimson edge of energy neared all Naruto could think to say was six little words that sent a shiver up Urahara's spine, "I am going to kill him…"

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Later that day Naruto sat at a small table as Yoruichi continued to bandage his injuries even if he claimed they would be healed by the time she finished wrapping them which only made her wrap them tighter. Naruto never would have thought a woman as brash and strong willed as Yoruichi would be so concerned and well babying him over a few injuries but he had to agree that what he had gone through was a little more damaging then he would have liked.

The fact that he had blocked the attack was enough to impress anyone there but the fact Naruto had no spiritual pressure of his own yet meant he had nothing to push it back with either even if his sword was able to block his physical strength could only do sp much. This unfortunate sequence of events led him to be scraped along the ground before hitting a small gathering of rocks which propelled him into the air and then led him to be knocked through 3 stone pillars and finally to have a very unwelcome meeting with the wall.

All in all he had felt much worse over the years. He would have preferred to not have it had happened at all but at least he could feel his power again! His sword laid next to him still with a red shine to the blade from the attack but nothing more then that. Even as he sat there he could feel his power rushing back to him as if someone was pouring it in. Even though this human body couldn't use it effectively he was more then happy to feel it. He could already feel his demon forms awakening as well. It was as if there was a selection menu in his mind. A choice of what body to be in. He had always had the choice of his hanyo or demon form from the menu but now it was like his human body had been added to it.

He had to admit to himself as he sat there that things were getting interesting now. New powers, adventures, and even things he had no clue about. It truly was as if he was starting his life over. No one hated him, hunted him, hell no one even knew him other then the five people in this room. It had to wonder if he was doing the right thing by just going with what Yoruichi and Urahara said. He did trust them and they seemed like good people but Kami-sama had sent him to this world. Not just for him…there had to be a reason so was it right to allow himself to be lead by other?

Naruto shook his head, _"Not much of a point wondering about that yet. These two are helping me and I still have a lot to learn. If there's such a big problem in this world then it will show up eventually and I can deal with it then…Kami must have had a reason it send me here but until that's clear I'll do as I like…"_

Naruto slowly leaned back until he fell onto the floor and stared at the ceiling trying to determine how much power he had regained. After a moment he opened his eyes with a slight smirk. One tail had finally returned and he felt as if the second was starting. The warm and familiar feeling was almost pleasurable…but he still couldn't feel his full demon form. He could wait. It would probably take some time to regain the 5 tails he would receive considering Urahara had said a week for Kyuubi to fully awaken. Kyuubi, that was another concern. He still couldn't hear Kyuubi he even had picked up his sword and tried talking to it only to receive strange looks from the others in the store.

"What are you doing talking to a sword Baka?" asked Jinta from the door way as he looked at the strange scene.

"I'm trying to see if I can hear Kyuubi yet…" said Naruto not realizing how foolish he looked to the others.

"Naruto-san…being able to talk to one Zanpaku-to takes time and training. It takes even longer to talk to them freely. Yours isn't even fully awakened yet…" said Urahara with a slightly cheerful voice. Hw was being very couscous around the blond after the ride he and Benihime had given him.

"I know about that and about the materialization that's needed for Bankai but I thought since Kyuubi and I have been together for so long it would be quicker. I mean I already know his name so I should have Shikai once I can hear him shouldn't I?" asked Naruto as he placed his still slightly glowing sword against the wall and sat down again.

"It's possible…I've never seen someone attain Shikai so fast but I've never known someone that knew there's sword before it awakened either…" said Yoruichi as she sat down across from him.

"Naruto-san why not go out and explore the city? Your first day of school will be tomorrow and I still have a few things to do before then." suggested Urahara as he shuffled through a stack of papers, "You need to observe other children your age…well the age you appear as well as learning how to interact with them…"

Naruto had to think about it for a moment before he shrugged and stood, "Would you mind if I grabbed some clothes? You kind of wrecked my old ones and I don't want to try using my set without knowing it will stay there…it would really suck to be naked out there…"

Everyone at the table had a good laugh at the idea, "Of course it's alright…also here's some money to get you started. You can think of it as an advance until you start work here. I think I'll let you have a week or two before that though so you can get settled." Said Urahara as he handed Naruto a wallet with of all things a fox head on the side.

Naruto couldn't help but to smile at the idea of him carrying himself. When he opened the wallet he was surprised to find not only money but a Bank card, several small card with notes on them, a school ID, and even a learners permit…what ever that was, "Umm, what is all this?"

Urahara sat up as he pointed to the items Naruto had asked about, "That card there is the ID to prove you're a student at your new school. You'll need that to get your uniform and class schedule tomorrow but we'll cover that later. The card there is a way to withdraw more money from an account I set up for you. The index cards just have some useful information that we all thought would be good for you to have. Such as directions, interesting places, what you can and can't talk about to humans, exchange rates for money…thing you will need to know. That these is an official ID. I doubt you will ever be driving but it's good to have. You can't be too careful."

"The ID's and Bank card I understand. They had the same things in my world for shinobi. I just wanted to make sure and well…thanks. You really are going out of your way to help me and I haven't done anything to deserve it…" said Naruto as he scratched the back of his head.

Urahara just laughed as he stood and said, "As you said earlier Naruto-san…we are not only helping you because we're kind. We do see something in you that interests us…"

Naruto's eyes hardened as a feral smirk spread across his face, "That's true but to get that you could have done a lot less. Merely fed me and helped me get my powers back. It would have been much easier to observe me that way…" then with a soft smile he said, "But here you are putting me into an apartment, giving me money, and even teaching me things that would have taken me months other wise. There's more to you then simple wanting to use my power so don't and try to get me to think of it that way…"

Urahara and the rest of the people in the shop had their own reactions to what was being said but mainly it was an awed look, "I've been alive far too long to not be able to read people…you're unsure of me but think I can help you so I will tell you now that as of yet I don't know what I will do. If you ask something of me I will do my best to help as long as I see fit to but don't expect me to do things without knows at least something about them…"

Urahara and Yoruichi shared a glance and then with a wave of his hand Urahara said, "There's no need to be so serious Naruto-san…just get whatever clothes you want off the shelf and go have fun. I would like you back before sunset. I would like to see what these powers of your can do tomorrow…"

Naruto just gave a quick nod before he disappeared out the door.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us don't we Kisuke?" asked Yoruichi from her spot at the table.

He then took on a serious tone of voice that no one but Yoruichi had heard before from the blonde, "It's more of keeping him on our side…you felt the power growing inside of him…if this is what he's gained in only a few hours what will be have after the week is up and he has his sword? He could be what we have been looking for or the worst thing that could have happened…only time will tell…"

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After Naruto went into the shop and sorted through the clothes he had to choose from he decided that he would go with what Yoruichi had called jeans and a t-shirt to wear over his own clothes. That way he could always just have his expand to cover the normal ones if he needed their abilities. He couldn't help but to hit himself for not thinking of wearing other clothes with his in all the years he had them. He would never tell anyone it but he had lost his clothes more then once over the years. They were an extension of his fur in for while he was in human form and they always took a subconscious effort to maintain so if he ever passed out or ran out of energy they would disappear on him!

It was a rare thing and he could only remember it happening 3 times other then in this world. The first was when his first child was born and he passed out when he was told. Kiba had gotten pictures to! It was totally embarrassing hearing the news that the feared 'Kyuubi no Yoko' Rokudaime of Konoha had fainted and mysteriously lost his clothes in the process.

He never had fully lived that down…he had gone back to Konoha about a thousand years after that and they had the damn paper of it in the museum! That was the first and only time he had ever stolen anything of real value other then the forbidden scroll.

The second time was when he had visited Gaara for his 40th birthday. The village of Suna wanted to strengthen their alliance so they arranged a party in his honor and to celebrate his 20th year in office that was coming up a week later. It was a fantastic party with whine and food and even a set of dancing kunoichi that used fans like Temari! Naruto had never had so much fun but what really caught him was Kankuro's present. A twelve hundred year old bottle that was said to hold a sake made from the blood of a dragon and brewed by the Rokubi it self.

By the time Naruto was old enough to drink he had already reached his 5th tail and had never had alcohol so the other guys had taken him out to get him plastered. After they had cleaned out the 3rd bar they had finally decided it took WAY too much alcohol and money to get Naruto drunk. They were rather disappointed about it but Naruto had grown to love the burning taste of the stuff so they had done their job. Now knowing this is what had everyone backing up when Naruto took one swig of the blue liquid and passed out.

Once again he had lost his clothes and entered a place in history that he would never escape…no matter how hard he tried. When Sakura had tested the liquid to be sure it wasn't poison she had found that the sake that was given to him was about 2200 proof compared to any other! That one sip was probably equal to several hundred gallons of the stuff. That one bottle had lasted Naruto 3000 years before he finished it off.

The last time he could remember was one he would rather forget…one that he never wants to remember…there was nothing happy or embarrassing about that memory.

Shaking his head to rid himself of the memories he would prefer to bury he set back on his track. He had already gotten the essentials last night since Yoruichi said having his clothes turn to liquid and reforming would look weird. She said it would be easier and safer if he stuck to regular ones and he could use his when he needed to.

With that idea in mind Naruto summoned his normal clothing and altered it to become a black body suit that covered everything but his neck up and hands. He then put a plain white t-shirt and jeans over it followed by a pair of black shoes. Luckily Urahara had a pair that looked exactly like the pair he had seen on that poster.

"There, now I still have regular clothes like she said but I still have mine for when I need them. I was never able to summon them fast enough when I needed them anyway…I wonder why I never thought to do this before? It would have saved me from robbing that museum that time and from other incidents…"

Naruto then turned to attach his leg holster and hip pouch but realized he hadn't seen them since he lost his clothes the first time. After thinking a moment he went back in to see Ururu, "Hay have you seen the pouch I wear on my hip or my leg holster?"

Ururu turned for a moment and then handed him his leg holster then as her face turned a shade of crimson she said in her quiet voice, "I'm sorry but that's all you had from last night when you know…"

Naruto had to think for a moment, _"Where could it be? If it didn't fall off last night the only other place would be…THE CRATER! Shit if someone finds it there could be a lot of trouble."_ Thought Naruto in alarm just thinking about what could happen if someone found his supply pouch, "Thanks Ururu-chan let Urahara know I'll be back later!"

Naruto then disappeared out the door leaving poor Ururu blushing like a tomato thinking, _"chan?"_

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Naruto made good time moving through the city even if he was stuck running. He had thought about climbing a building so he could just jump there but that would attract too much attention…if only he was able to go unseen like the damn Shinigami this would be much easier.

It took him a little while but soon he was at the edge of the forest he had arrived in. It kind of surprised him that such a lush and green area had so few animal around it? That's when he caught the scent as he passed the hill again. A smell he had ignored before because it was so common to him. The smell of old death. Humans may not have been able to smell it but death no matter how old left a mark on the land and right below him was a graveyard that could even rival Konoha's…he had to wonder if these people buried everyone that died? In Konoha only the greatest of hero's or the rich were allowed to be buried and take up useful land. Others were cremated and had their names added to memorial that were placed throughout the village.

After allowing his mind to wander on the idea of death Naruto decided he needed to hurry. It was a sort distance to find his pouch. Right there on the outside of the hole was were he found it. Hw could have beaten himself to death for doing such a stupid thing! The things in that pouch could cause a lot of problems. Kunai, Shuriken, Exploding notes, scrolls of various things, poisons, wire, he even had his 'Hirishin' Kunai in there! It seemed strange to him now that he still carried all these things…it's not like he didn't have a jutsu or ability that did the same thing or better…he figured it was just the familiarity of it or the thought of a backup. He couldn't decide so he settled on once a ninja always a ninja.

It only took him a moment to attach it to his new pants and find some bandages to attack his shuriken holster. Yoruichi may not like it but after over 5000 years there are some thing one is not willing to go without. Then there it was…it was subtle and faint but he could sense another beings spiritual aura…just as when he fought the Hollow but this didn't feel like a Hollow…it felt like…

Naruto's eyes went wide…a Shinigami was near. It took a moment but Naruto began to expand his suit under his clothes to cover his new clothes and equipment. After that he was surrounded in a red sphere of light in an instant and when it died out standing in the middle of the clearing was a three tailed demon fox the size of a horse, **"Hmm, at three tails already? That's good my jutsu may not work on them but I know I can touch them like I did the Hollow…but without my sword I have no idea how effective I'll be. The only way to know is to try."**

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Naruto easily tracked the Shinigami to a clearing near the cemetery. He had roughly been able to feel it by comparing it to what he had observed from Urahara. What he found though was no where near what he expected. From his spot in the bushes he watched two people in a clearing talking about some school, _"So the girl is Kuchiki Rukia and the guy is Saidou Eikichirou…not very interesting so far…"_

A girl with short black hair wearing a yellow sun dress was standing across from a Shinigami wearing a straw hat. The Shinigami had no real distinctive features Naruto could find and by everything he was seeing was nothing compared to Urahara. He had come here thinking that maybe the Shinigami were looking for him like Urahara had warned but this one hardly seemed worth his time. Average muscle build to his eyes. No hidden weapons of items he couldn't identify. The guy even carried himself like an average samurai.

The girl on the other hand didn't seem like anything to his eye but the fact she was speaking to the Shinigami had his interest, _"This girl is either a Shinigami in a Gigai like Yoruichi told me about or a human with spiritual power…but which one? One would just be someone else to watch…the other could be someone to contact…maybe even see if I can learn something from them?"_

"You're…with the secret mobile unit?" asked the girl as more of a statement then a question. The man on the other hand responded by making an annoying dinging sound as he pulled on a string in his hat that revealed the top of his hat popped open to show a small sign with the kanji or 'correct' written there.

Naruto had seen some pretty ridiculous thing in his life. Many he had done himself but this would have had him face vaulting if he wasn't already as low to the ground as he could be. In the stead of planting his fur covered face in the ground he settled for a simple sweet drop as he listened on.

"Quit messing around!" called Rukia in an indignant voice as the man gave her a victory sign, "What are you trying to do?!"

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The rest of the conversation was rather boring to Naruto. It appeared the girl WAS a Shinigami to his disappointment and it appeared she was supposed to return to the Seireitei but didn't and this guy was sent to get her back. He had thought it would get interesting when the girl started to attack him with some blue energy but sadly she had stopped after he jumped away.

After that Naruto had gotten rather board of watching these two and decided to leave quietly. If he stayed much longer there was a good chance he would get caught and then he would really be in trouble with Yoruichi. It was then that it hit Naruto…a Hollow was near and one that made the one he fought the day before seem like nothing.

He couldn't help but let a blood thirsty grin slide across his maw as he wrapped himself in an illusion to escape the view of the Shinigami and began stalking his new prey. It had been so many centuries since there was something he could hunt and not feel guilty about killing it. Even deer and other animals had a soft spot in Naruto's heart…even if he still ate them. But here…here was something he had no guilt over. Something that only lived to feed on others and cause pain. It was as if there were now hundreds of Orochimaru to hunt and the thought while disturbing only made his blood thirsty grin spread wider…

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It took Naruto only a few moments to arrive at the same hill as before with his mind clouded by the thought of a good fight but his blood ran cold the instant he saw the Hollow. The drive and desire for blood to hunt completely left Naruto as he stared down at the Hollow…he was shocked at what he was seeing but then his thirst for blood returned ten fold but for a different reason.

Under the Hollows foot and held in the air by a long tendril from the top of its head were two girls. No more then twelve years old. Naruto saw red and in an instant he had leapt from the hill top to bash his side into the Hollow. As the Hollow began to tip from the force of his strike he easily charged on tail with youki to easily slice through the Hollow's tendril and safely grab both of the girls with his remaining two, _"Calm down Naruto…if you let it get to you then it will get the girls…" _

Naruto studied the Hollow before him being sure not to let it move as he moved his tails to set the girls on the ground. The one called Yuzu had passed out from being choked like she was but the other one seemed a little freaked out over something…he couldn't blame her. First being attacked by this thing and then having something basically invisible scoop her up, "_It's nice to know I can affect these things as long as I use my body with Youki infused in it…it just seems my attacks that separate from me lose power quickly…how did I never realize this in my world? Probably because I never found anything that could withstand my power as is…if that true though I wonder how a 'Rasengan' would do? "_ thought Naruto as he stared down the Hollow before him still cloaked in his illusion.

"You!" cried that Hollow as it stared at the girls, "What the hell are you and why can't I see you clearly?!" the Hollow was hideous even to someone like Naruto who had seen absolute abominations. It was covered in thick brown hair with a mask that reminded him of a clown.

"_The thing can see me? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. All my other abilities seem to be underpowered here so why should my illusions be any different?"_ thought Naruto as he stood crouched down to be ready to strike if he needed to, **"I suppose that means you can see me? You must be more powerful then I gave you credit for…I'll enjoy drawing your blood…"**

Karin by now was beyond scared. Her and her sister had just been attacked by one of those monsters that's talking about eating them and then another thing just grabs them away from it and is now talking about eating the monster, "Please just leave us alone!" pleaded Karin in a obviously pained voice. The Hollow only laughed…

"**Don't worry…"** said Naruto as he softly laid one of his tails around Karin's shoulders, **"I know you can't see me but be sure that he will not get you as long as I'm here…"**

The Hollow stopped laughing as it seemed to stare intently at where it could see the distortion Naruto's illusion made as Karin asked in a shaken voice, "Do-do you promise? You won't let it get my sister?"

Naruto only turned his head so his eye's could be seen by Karin. The red slit eyes made her want to curl back into herself but the words…the words let her know it was ok, **"It's a promise little one and I never go back on a promise…that is my way…the way I have always lived…"**

In that instant the Hollow leapt forward as long nails extended from its hands! As it neared Naruto he moved his three tails above his head…the Hollow expecting something like this seeing the tong appendages before used its regenerated head tendril to strike around the back to try and capture the girls but to its shock all three of it's attacks came crashing into a dome like barrier surrounding the whole area around the girls.

The barrier colored the deep red of blood shimmered as the three attacks met it but what the Hollow saw inside of the barrier is what made it scuttle back as if it had been burned. Inside of the barrier that shined of hate and malevolence that seemed to exist for this Hollow and this Hollow alone glared two crimson eyes that spoke one word to all that looked within them…DEATH…

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	5. Chapter 5

Ch.5 Resolve

By DarkFayt

**Ok here is chapter 5 and I hope you all like it. I just want to say that I received my first negative review for this fic and that's fine! All I ask is that if you review leave some way for me to contact you because otherwise the review is rather worthless to me! I can't improve my story for you unless I find out what you want me to do! Here is the review…**

Gogolu  
2008-01-18  
ch 3, anon.

Why would he tell his live story.  
That's just stupid.

Have you ever heard anybody just tell someone his/her live story just after a meting or at all?

It's like those pathetic Ranma stories where he meets someone and tell them everything about him.

Idea of story is interesting and writing is ok but think about things before you write them. You can make whole plots based on curiosity for a stranger.

**Other then the grammar this is a great review! It gives the readers honest opinion and what they saw wrong with the fic! But it didn't give me any ideas for how to improve it and that is what I like about reviews. It's a way to talk to the reader.**

**Now Naruto did not tell his whole life story. He told a very limited version with details about his world to convince them he was telling the truth and to gain their trust. Give to Get. He told no personal history or anything of the sort. He explained about the Shinobi ways, village life, him being some kind of demon, the fact of being Hokage, and the Shinigami sending him there. He didn't go through all 5000 years and he didn't write a book for them of his jutsu in the few hours before Urahara arrived. He needed their help and telling them the truth was the quickest way of doing that. He was in an unknown world with beings as strong as a five tails and all he had was a small amount of Youki and a sword he wasn't supposed to use. That is being in deep shit if I ever heard it…**

"Normal Talking"

"**Demonic talking"**

"_Thinking"_

"_**Kyuubi talking/thinking"**_

"HIGHER BEING talking"

**Jutsu or Sp. Power/Attack being used**

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**(Last time…)**

_Naruto only turned his head so his eye's could be seen by Karin. The red slit eyes made her want to curl back into herself but the words…the words let her know it was ok, __**"It's a promise little one and I never go back on a promise…that is my way…the way I have always lived…"**_

_In that instant the Hollow leapt forward as long nails extended from its hands! As it neared Naruto he moved his three tails above his head…the Hollow expecting something like this seeing the long appendages before used its regenerated head tendril to strike around the back to try and capture the girls but to its shock all three of it's attacks came crashing into a dome like barrier surrounding the whole area around the girls._

_The barrier colored the deep red of blood shimmered as the three attacks met it but what the Hollow saw inside of the barrier is what made it scuttle back as if it had been burned. Inside of the barrier that shined of hate and malevolence that seemed to exist for this Hollow and this Hollow alone glared two crimson eyes that spoke one word to all that looked within them…DEATH…_

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Naruto stared deep into the red eyes of the Hollow with his own as his muscles tensed. It had been so many years since he had wanted to tear into something like he wanted to now. Not since the war with Akatsuki had he wished for blood like this. This…this thing needed to die…

As he searched the eyes of the Hollow he couldn't help his fur standing on end at what he found…or couldn't find. The eyes of the Hollow were glassy…like that of a doll. No fear, anger, hunger, or even sick pleasure shown in them for what it was doing even if it sounded in its voice.

Even monsters like Orochimaru had sick fascination in their eyes as they committed their monstrosities but this creature…it was as if there was no reason for it to do what it did. Naruto had never found something that did evil for no reason other then the thought of doing it…even demons killed for hunger, the excitement of the fight, or just the hunt…he wanted to end this beings existence for the simple fact it was an abomination, _"If I try to drop my shield to attack it will grab the children…it takes me at least 7 seconds to recover after fully dropping this shield…using it was a mistake! I should have stopped his attack with my tails and struck for its throat that very second…it seems all my years of peace made me a little weak…what can I do to finish this?"_

Naruto watched in interest as the Hollow seemed to probe his barrier with its tendril…seeking some hole or weak point in his defense but Naruto knew there was none. This was his ultimate defense one that had yet to be pieced even by other demons. A full sphere of protection above and below the ground completely under his control. The energy used to maintain the barrier was nearly infinite.

His tails acted as a cycle for the energy. Adding minute amounts that were lost when the barrier came under attack and Naruto knew he could hold a barrier of this size as long as needed with what he had lost from the last attack but keeping the barrier wasn't the problem, _"If only I had another tail to strike with it would be simple to destroy this thing but I need all three tails to maintain the barrier. If I drop it my body needs time to reabsorb the youki or I'll lose too much power to finish this and I need more youki then normal to affect a Hollow. I really put myself in between a rock with this one…maybe if I expand the barrier quickly and knock it off its feet I can get the time I need?"_

As Naruto began to feed power into his barrier to try attacking the Hollow he heard someone screaming, "Karin! Yuzu!" Naruto allowed his eyes to shift from the Hollow to see yet another Shinigami but this one seemed different. He had spiky orange hair that reminded him of the way he wore his when he was a genin. The Shinigami easily sliced through the tendril that had been hovering over Naruto's barrier before he landed in front of it.

"_Hmm, looks like I just got the time I needed…it will take longer this way but I can slowly drain my power back from the barrier instead of leaving the girls unguarded…"_ Naruto took a moment before asking, **"Are these two friends of yours Shinigami?"** the Shinigami seemed to look where Naruto's illusion showed with a look of confusion but before the Shinigami could ask anything the Hollow spoke.

"So Shinigami this thing is yours is it? I was waiting for you hoping to have a hostage or two but it seems your pet was against the idea."

"**Pet? You…arrogant bastard…" **howled Naruto in outrage at being called a pet by such a thing. Everyone in the area looked as if they were about to scatter from the horrifying sounds. If this filthy thing was flesh and blood Naruto would have torn it to pieces with a mere glance but this was a spirit and it took ridiculous amounts of youki to affect them from what he'd seen, _"Why did it take so much youki to cut through this thing? When I punched that first Hollow I hardly had any…this really isn't the best situation. An opponent that can affect me normally while I have to struggle to even affect it…"_

He was about to tell the strange Shinigami to take the girls from a break he had opened in his barrier and go but the two other Shinigami from before came rushing in and stood behind the orange haired one before he could even finish the opening.

"Ichi-nii!!!" called the dark haired girl to the orange haired Shinigami when she finally noticed him. Naruto couldn't help but allow his maw to draw back bearing his teeth in aggravation even if no one could see it. This was becoming far too complicated for his liking. Too many players that he couldn't deal with because of his lack of spiritual power.

"_This was suppose to be a simple kill…something to relieve some stress and to see where I stand against these things. Now look where I am. Three Shinigami, a Hollow, and two children are in the area and now this Shinigami seems to be the kids brother…shit no easy way out of this. I just hope they can't see me any better then the Hollow. I don't need an army of Shinigami thinking I'M a Hollow." _

Naruto watched in interest as the Ichi-Shinigami took stance against the Hollow but Naruto also noticed his eyes always returned to his barrier and he couldn't blame him for the amateur mistake. A phantom shape was holding his sisters inside a red barrier that must feel far to similar to a Hollow like Yoruichi had said.

"Rukia see if you can get my sisters out of whatever that is! I'll handle this guy!"

The dark haired girl that Naruto had seen earlier called back, "Ichigo don't be a fool! That Hollow is…" but before she could finish Ichigo noticed a small child standing in front of the Hollow. Naruto was curious why this child seemed to shock the Shinigami so much.

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"You-you…what's…going on?" asked Ichigo as he looked on with a shocked look across his face, "You bastard, you're the one that was on the bank that day, aren't you? Six years ago! Why are you here?"

Naruto looked on in interest as he continued to reabsorb his power from the barrier. It was a sad story he heard between this Hollow and the boy standing before him. Sad that this Ichigo's mother had given her life to save him from this Hollow who used such filthy tricks as a lure that looks like a child.

"Grand Fisher…that's it's code name…" said the one called Rukia, "It hides its self and makes the appendage on it's head take the form of a human then anyone with high enough spirit energy to see it becomes his prey…this Hollow has evaded Shinigami for 50 long years…"

Naruto was nearly grinding his own teeth down as he waited for the barrier to drop. Not only was this creature an unfeeling evil that shouldn't exist but it used a filthy tactic he would have expected from Orochimaru! He was careful…he saw that no one had taken their eyes of his barrier since they all arrived but the fact that the one girl Karin seemed calm was most likely keeping them calm as well. But when Naruto heard what Rukia had to say next it almost made him lose his illusion…

"And it's favorite meal is…women."

Ichigo only took a moment before he asked, "Which means…this thing killed my mom?"

Naruto could feel the distress of Karin behind him. He was actually glad the other one was still asleep and couldn't hear the truth. He knew what the girl must be feeling but all he could offer her was the warmth of his free tail for now. The barrier was weakening but still too strong for him to move without breaking it, **"It's alright…it won't hurt you as long as I'm here little one. Your brother is here as well…you don't need to be afraid."**

This drew the attention of the Hollow as it began to chuckle darkly, "Ah, I see…you're a lucky kid to have survived after seeing me. And now this thing of yours saves you from me a second time!" It then turned and said, "I was planning to use those girls so I could eat you easily but it seems now I have missed out on two easy meals of you."

Both Naruto and Ichigo tense as they look on and hear the Hollow say, "I may have originally planned to eat you for your high spirit power but…woman just look so tasty!"

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Naruto couldn't believe what he was seeing! The boy had no skill at all with his sword! He looked like a complete amateur using it. His stance was wrong, he had no idea how to shift his weight properly to power his swings. He even began swinging wildly at the Hollow, _"Urahara said a soul that becomes a Shinigami is in their academy for 6 years and then has to climb through the ranks before being aloud to patrol the human world. That's supposed to take years though…it looks like he just started using that sword a week ago…he wont beat that Hollow like that…not that I'm doing any better."_

As Ichigo continued to attack the Hollow relentlessly Naruto sensed something to his right only to see a blast of what looked like blue fire crash into what was left of his barrier. When it cleared he saw the other two Shinigami standing there calling out to the girls to be calm and they'd get them out. Naruto only snorted as he said, **"Wait a moment. This barrier takes time to dispel…"** with one final shimmer the crimson wall disappeared but before Rukia could run to the girls Naruto easily stepped in front of her as he asked,** "Karin, do you know these Shinigami?"**

The male one drew his sword and yelled for Naruto to get away from the girls as Rukia said, "Girls run over her quickly!"

Naruto only waited for an answer as he felt Karin using his body to walk towards the girl, "She-she's Ichi-nii's class mate…"

"**Good…"** said Naruto as he used his tails to carefully had the still sleeping Yuzu to the male Shinigami and help Karin to Rukia's side, **"Stay with them and behind me. I'll watch for an opening to help your brother. No offense but his skills with a sword have me worried…"**

Both Shinigami look on at the horse size blur with caution, "Who or what are you?" asked Rukia as she placed the girl behind her.

"**Does it really matter at the moment?"** asked Naruto without turning back, **"Your friend is fighting right now and we need to watch for a chance to help but with him swinging wildly like that we're just as likely to get hit as the damn Hollow!"**

The Shinigami were thrown off by the power behind the voice. It was deep and it resonated with them as if it could knock them down on a whim. They could feel its intent travel through them and had to wonder what this thing was but the fact was this creature was not the one to deal with at the moment. It was a mystery for later after this Hollow was gone.

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"You're the only one I'll NEVER forgive!" cried Ichigo as he was captured by the Hollows long hair.

Naruto watched in interest as the girl Rukia began to move her hands in intricate patterns and said, "Disintegrate, Black dog of Rodanini! Look upon yourself and burn; tear away your own throat! **Bakudo number 9 GEKI!"**

Naruto was sure to watch carefully but as the strange sequence of words activated the first Kido he had ever seen. The Hollow was surrounded by a strange red aura that slowed it's movement. Naruto couldn't see how a string of words could have such an effect but it seemed to not really matter since the Hollow only seemed to be annoyed by the spell.

Naruto used the chance given by Rukia's Kido to rush the Hollow but before he could reach the thing he heard it cry out, "Don't disturb me!" as its hair formed into a tentacle and smashed Rukia into a near by head stone.

Naruto cursed under his breath as he easily cut through the hair holding Ichigo. He hadn't thought the Hollow could attack like that! Had he really become so careless after all the years that he was overlooking such blatant things such as protecting your tactician and medic? He couldn't help but look on as a small streak of blood ran down the side of Rukia's face…

It was then that he knew it was true as he felt the Hollow wrap its hand around his midsection. Naruto only struggled for a moment before using his youki infused tails and claws to cut into the Hollow in several places hearing it scream in agony as the hand holding him was cut off.

Ichigo and the other Shinigami watched on from the ground, "What is that thing?" asked Ichigo as he looked on at the struggle between what he could tell was some kind of four legged animal fighting the Hollow.

"I don't know but at least it's on our side…" said the other Shinigami as he took up a ready stance. Ichigo couldn't help but to look back at the scared face of his sister as she held Yuzu's head in her lap. He knew he would have a lot to explain to her when they got home since it was clear she was seeing everything but he didn't have time to think about that long as the blurred figure suddenly flew past him slamming into another head stone.

As if it was a start signal Ichigo once again entered the battle as Naruto began to stand up again, _"Shit, not only am I not doing any sufficient damage but its like this Hollow is getting stronger! That thing just broke my back leg with those claw nails…there has to be a way to do more damage but all my attacks don't have the spiritual power behind them to finish this! What I've done so far would be enough to drop it easily if it where alive but this thing just keeps coming…I need to try a Rasengan…it's my best chance to finish this!"_

Naruto stood and raised his hand like paw in front of his face as he began to gather youki for his finisher…but then Naruto saw something he hadn't expected. The Hollow tried for the girls again! But unlike the last time he was on the opposite side of the Hollow. There was no way to reach them before he grabbed them so Naruto simply prepared to take them back as soon as the Hollow had them!

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Everyone watched as blood slowly dripped from the Shinigami who had jumped in front of the girls to be struck by the hair of the Hollow. Naruto was shocked. He looked on with a mix of emotions. Surprise, empathy, frustration, and finally understanding after hearing the Shinigami's words.

Surprise because he didn't think anyone other then the brother would have risked their life for the girls. It was just so rare to see that kind of character in any being let alone one that was once human. To sacrifice ones self for family even was a rarity in his eyes after his millennia watching people. Empathy, for he understood the drive to protect another for no reason even if it seemed irrational to do so.

Frustrated for the sheer fact it was clear the Shinigami had no chance of truly blocking the attack. Naruto couldn't help but think the man foolish for not just letting the girls be taken! Once the Hollow had them ensnared it would have been simple to cut the hair holding them just as before but now one of their own was seriously wounded!

Then…then the words of the Shinigami hit him and he understood for the first time in so many years, "Shinigami keep fighting the Hollows, no matter what. Shinigami never forgive Hollows…because of Hollows attacking indiscriminately…precious people are lost…and only emptiness is left. I won't forgive that. Protect them spiky boy…you…understand don't you?"

Naruto looked on as the Shinigami fell for all appearances dead but Naruto could clearly hear his heart beating and Ichigo saying he was asleep but that wasn't what his mind was on. It was the purpose of a Shinigami…a protector of all from the Hollows. A being that was an enemy to all. It didn't matter what village you were from or your mission objectives. All Shinigami shared the same purpose of protecting all from Hollows.

A purpose that used to be the reason he existed…to protect and here everyone was to be protected and the Hollow were the enemy. Naruto always cursed himself for his life as a shinobi. Protecting his precious people at the cost of hurting…of killing the precious people of others. It began to weigh on him until he couldn't bring himself to do it anymore. Not as a shinobi, not as a Kage, not even as himself…as the Kyuubi no Yoko but here these monsters were nothing but monsters! No one treasured these things and it was clear they treasured nothing!

It felt as if a lock had been opened…a door that had been shut for so many years just blew apart. The energy that was flowing out of Naruto saturated the air as the very skies bleed red…

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"Umm, Manager? Manager you better get in here!" screamed Jinta as he watched Naruto's sword slowly begin to glow a fierce red.

Just as Urahara entered the front room where Naruto had left his Zanpaku-to Yoruichi appeared through the window, "Kisuke there's a strange feeling in the air. I don't recognize it…"

"Well Yoruichi-san from what his Zanpaku-to is doing I would say it has something to do with Naruto…" as Yoruichi's eyes fell on the glowing red sword she couldn't help but curse under her breath as she watched the ever care free Urahara.

"I knew I should have followed him. It was far to early to let him wander alone. Other then what he told us we haven't been able to learn anything! For all we know he could be in danger out there…maybe even under attack by Shinigami."

"Yes," said Urahara as he studied the sword, "Every scan I've taken of him has told me nothing other then confirm his story. His power is unique and I'm curious what the others in his world are like but one thing that worries me is everything in this world has some trace of spirit particles from simply being here but he doesn't…"

"He did tell the truth about his world," said Yoruichi with a slight bite to her words, "That's never been the question! He told us of his world and the ways of it but we know nothing of HIM! What are the extent of his powers? What does he plan to do now that he knows about this world? What's his true form as a demon? I trust him Kisuke but there's just too many questions… "

"True, Yoruichi but the answers to those will come with time or when you ask them…but what has me worried is…," Urahara spoke in an unusually serious and dry voice that caught everyone's attention before he sighed deeply, "I never doubted his story. He just doesn't have that sort of face to be a liar. What I was saying is that he has never absorbed any spirit particles…which means all the spiritual energy he possesses is merely the result of his long existence…what I'm worried is what will he become one his body begins to truly absorb them in this world like other beings do?"

In that instance Naruto's Zanpaku-to seemed to roar before exploding with crimson light. After the light fades and Urahara could see the gaping hole in his roof and the last faint trails of red in the distance he turned to Yoruichi only to see her disappear out a nearby window.

"Well, I won't be needing to ask her to follow it seem…," He then turned to call Tessai the large man that worked in the shop but yet again he was too late. The man had already began patching the hole.

"Be finished in a moment Manager…" called Tessai as he stuck his head through the large hole.

Urahara seemed to blink a few times before turns to return to the back room, "Hmm, it seems I can continue my nap then…"

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It was strange…for as long as Naruto could remember it was always his anger and rage that drew out his demonic power. Even when he was merely the Kyuubi's container his rage was the key. Whether that rage and hate was focused on protecting his friends or destroying an enemy the anger was always there but here and now he didn't feel anything of the like. Power was freely flowing from him and staining the world in crimson to his eyes. All three tails he had regained had fully awakened but yet he was calm…

"Ichigo, back me up!" said Rukia as she walked forward until Ichigo jumped in front of her to face the Hollow, "Ichigo!"

"Rukia, stay back…"

Naruto watched as a boy who looked like the Ichigo Shinigami named Kon come and took the sisters to safety as Ichigo himself continued fighting the Hollow even with Rukia's warning that they needed to work together. Naruto wanted to move. Wanted to help but he never seemed to no matter how hard he tried.

Rukia looked scared as she said, "What the hell? This thing is strong! Its avoided Shinigami for over 50 yea…"

"Shut up!" screamed Ichigo as he faced down the Hollow, "Please…don't interfere."

The rain continued to poor as Naruto's power continued to grow. He watched as his power seemed to cover the landscape but it seemed no one else noticed. He could feel his power continue to grow within him. Even to the point where he knew three tails shouldn't be able to go that far but yet he knew he had not gained another. He decided simply to listen until he knew what…as the rain continued to fall…

"This is…MY fight!" cried Ichigo as he charged the Hollow and their fight disappeared into the surrounding forest.

Naruto took a moment before he asked, **"Rukia…"**

As the shaken girl turned it seemed as if she had completely forgotten the phantom as she said, "Yes…" she seemed unsure if she was even safe with the shimmering figure.

"**Is it true…" **the only sign she was even listening was a slight tilting of her head, **"Is it true…what that one said about what a Shinigami's power is meant for?"**

Rukia took a moment to look down at the sleeping Shinigami, "Yes, we all fight the Hollows to protect not only humans but our own." Her voice took on a withered tone, "The Hollows are a threat to everything and everyone and all Shinigami fight to protect all we can…the feeling is even stronger in some since we too have lost precious people to the Hollow."

The words struck Naruto in a place he had closed off centuries ago. A place that couldn't except protecting precious people at the cost of the precious people of others. A place he tore from himself when he walked away from his village and what was left of himself from when his own precious people still lived.

He had heard the same from the Shinigami of his world and even from Urahara but it seemed to carry…further from this small girl, **"I want...I want to become…someone who cares again…someone that protects people…I want to be the Hokage I was when she…" **said Naruto in a quiet voice just above a whisper.

Rukia looked even more confused as she looked at the shimmering phantom before her. She had heard everything but couldn't find the words to ask what the phantom meant by them. She just continued to stare at it…silently and waiting.

Naruto stayed silent for a moment until his voice returned to the booming power it once was, **"I want that power…the power of a Shinigami. To protect people again. The power to destroy that damn HOLLOW!"**

It was that moment an explosion of crimson light seemed to pierce the clouds. Rukia watched in awe as a sword descended from the sky and implanted deeply into the back of whatever the shimmering figure was…then the curtain fell and Rukia eyes fell upon a crimson three tailed fox that even for all her years as a Shinigami looked as fearsome as any Hollow.

She fell back out of pure shock as the Kitsune began to howl in pain as the sword continued to bury itself deeper into the creature as its glow intensified. Out of nowhere the rain and mist that had surrounded her all began to bleed red and gather around the demonic visage in a swirling mass at it's feet. Red piercing eyes, crimson fur with hand-like paws as black as night. Everything in Rukia's mind told her to run but there was no malice, no intent to kill coming from the creature…just power.

Slowly it began…the red was mixing with pure white. Small pure white shards began to gather around the being and only one thing came to the girls mind, _"Spirit particles…"_ Rukia continued to watch as the kitsune continued to growl and the particles gathered until it was completely hidden from her.

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Naruto looked around and couldn't help but to say the first thing that came to his mind, "Fuck…another white void…"

Naruto continued to turn I every direction right, left, front, back, above, and below trying to find something different inside the endless void. Finally he stopped and slapped himself in the forehead and said, "I'm not going to like this am I?"

"_**Most likely not…"**_ said a voice from behind Naruto. Once he turned to the new being Naruto took a sharp intake of breath. The person was…interesting to say the least.

A mane of spiky, fiery red hair traveled to his calves. The man seemed as tall as Naruto if not slightly taller and seemed middle aged with lightly tanned skin. A flawless white coat similar to Naruto's old Hokage cape with black metal over the shoulders covered his torso. A black kosode hung under the coat with both of them sleeveless. The coat was held shut over his torso by three black chains as it flowed to the floor. It split at his waist to show he wore crimson hakama and the same style of sandals the Shinigami did. His forearms were covered by black metal armlets but all this was just what Naruto took in. Just as he did when he looked at anyone. What made him take such a deep breath were the piercing red eyes…

"Kyuubi?" asked Naruto only to see the mans lips pull into a tight smirk, "It is you! But what are you doing here? And why are you human?"

Kyuubi couldn't help but to let out a loud laugh, _**"Still so curious are we?"**_

Naruto crossed his arms as he raised an eyebrow waiting for the answers, _**"Fine-fine it seems neither of us will EVER change. I'm here because I felt you calling for me. Don't ask me how I got here because I don't know myself. As for why I'm human…I don't know that either but I can guess being the spirit of your Zanpaku-to has given me a new…outlook."**_

"So you came because I was calling you somehow? Why did you stab me in the back then?" asked Naruto with a slight tick to his eye.

"_**Urrr! Why do you expect me to know these things boy?! I only awoke mere moments ago as a sword of all things and felt you calling or pulling? Whatever you want to call it! Next thing I know I'm imbedded in your back. All I know for sure is that whatever is happening I'm being changed so you can use my power in your demon form…"**_

"Changed? What is that supposed to mean Kyuubi?" asked Naruto as her scratched his mass of blonde hair.

"_**Again boy I don't know anymore then you do but it's clear to me that almost all the spiritual power we had between us before coming to this world was transferred to me when we arrived here. Not all at once but over time for one reason or another. That is why you have been finding it harder and harder to deal with these things."**_

Naruto looked as if he was struck by lightning as he screeched, "SO THAT'S WHY! All my power to affect these damn spirit things went to you?!"

Kyuubi stood still for a moment trying to process the words. It was hard to not have the answers for once and he couldn't blame Naruto for being confused. In all their millennia together he had always been the one Naruto turned to when all else failed…but here he knew no more then Naruto did, _**"The blast from that other Shinigami made you instinctually give me all the spiritual power you had left to force me awake in an attempt to stave off the attack. Now it seems we are gathering spirit energy from the very air around us to regain what we have lost but it seems we can't absorb it all at once. I've taken as much as I can and now it's mixing with what youki you have regained as far as I can tell. Now it seems the spirit particles that were left over are being used to expand my shape…at least that's what I've been able to understand so far."**_

Naruto stopped for a moment to think. He was quiet for sometime much to Kyuubi's annoyance until he said, "Oh, what's the point in getting a headache thinking about it! We'll deal with this just like everything else! We're still together so lets show this world what our power is like!"

Naruto then raised his hand to Kyuubi only to have the demon smirk as he grasped it saying, _**"Thinking was never your strong suit so lets have some fun like in the old days!"**_

In a blur of movement the void disappeared to be replaced by a lush green forest that even put Konoha's to shame. A warm breeze and the fresh smell of the forest was intoxicating to both of them. Even under these trees that rose to the sky the sun still shown through them somehow to shine on the two as the wind rustled the leaves…

"_**Well, I guess I don't need to worry about remaining in that void do I?"**_

Naruto chuckled, "Its better then the sewer that you used to live in isn't it?" Naruto smiled as he began to fade, "Hay, wait! I'm not done yet!"

"_**Don't worry brat. I'll find someway to contact you soon so we can figure a few things out. In the mean time tear that Hollow to shreds while I figure this place out!"**_ called out Kyuubi to the fading Naruto.

Naruto just closed his eyes after hearing Kyuubi's words as he faded from the world of his Zanpaku-to. Kyuubi seemed to scan the surrounding forest in interest, _**"May as well get started. Knowing the gaki this is going to be a headache…"**_

Kyuubi slowly moved into the shadows of the trees until he disappeared from sight. The trees seemed to darken after his passing as if the forest only lit itself for his and Naruto's meeting. It was slow and creeping as a black mist spread from the surrounding trees. It was as if a black fog crawled from the darkness of the trees in invade the world...

It was then…four slit yellow eyes looked on from the darkness of the forest until they slowly moved away deeper into the darkness…

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Rukia watched as the gathered mass of spirit particles slowly faded…

Before she could utter a single question about what she had just seen she was shocked speechless at what her eyes fell upon. It was strange and almost alien to look at. It was as if fairy tales had comes into the real world right along with this kitsune. The sword that had impaled the kitune's back had disappeared but in it's place…

The forearms of each leg of the strange Kitsune were covered in shined black metal up to the joints. The armor looked as if it was forged around the legs themselves. Completely smooth with not even a crease…as if the fox had been born with them there but she knew better then that.

Each of the Kitsune's three tails adorned a polished silver ring that hung just below their black tipped ends. Each ring seemed to float in mid air around the tails with an almost ethereal look to them as the pale light hit them.

Finally around the Kitsune's neck was a metal piece that extended down its front and over it's shoulders to form some strange guard. Even for all the strange things before her Rukia had to wonder how it stayed up? No straps or other device seemed to hold it there and yet there it sat.

It took Naruto a moment to return to awareness. After being stabbed in the back, waking up in another god forsaken void, and then being thrown back into this world he couldn't help but be dazed as he scanned the surroundings. After a moment his eyes fell on Rukia and the fallen Shinigami again. It was then it all came back to him about the damned Hollow.

Just as Naruto crouched to launch off he heard, "Wait! What are you? Why are you helping us?"

Naruto took a moment before he replied as he slowly moved his body. Discovering his new additions, **"Does that really matter at the moment?" **asked Naruto in a soft voice that carried over the rain, **"I am what I am and for right now I want to destroy that Hollow because it is an abomination…that is my reason for helping you."**

Rukia couldn't help but to take a step back. Out of all the things she could have expected to hear…that was not it. This thing was…strange. It felt like a Hollow but didn't act like one or look like one. Its voice…deep, powerful, wise, and the way it spoke could go from that of a venerable elder to that of a youth in a moment. Everything about it should have had her on edge and yet it had made that declaration…saying it wanted to protect people again…

"Fine whatever you are but I'm going with you!"

Naruto had to stop and blink for a moment as the girl walked up beside him and waited for a response, **"Fine but tell me more about that Hollow on the way."**

Rukia smirked as she said, "Only if you tell me what the hell you are?"

Naruto watched in amusement despite the situation as Rukia ran off into the forest with that smirk on her face. It only took Naruto a moment to catch up after taking to a jogging pace for him. He quickly realized she ran far too slow so with a quick movement of his tail he had scooped the girl up much to her protests and set her on his back.

Rukia quickly took a dislike to sitting on the wet back of the fox but she decided it was far easier then walking besides the strange armor on its neck let her slid her feet into slots and grab onto areas on the neck so it wasn't so bad even if very wet.

It was then that a very displeasing realization entered Naruto's mind as he felt Rukia's feet slid into areas of his armor as she tightly held the armor around his neck and shoulders…

"_I'VE BEEN SADDLED DAMN IT!!!"_

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Love it? Hate it? Review please!

I know this is moving slower then most of you would like but this fight has a lot to do with Naruto learning about this new world and his own powers. It will speed up quite a lot after this with a few training time skips and him just exploring the world. I hope to kick off the Seireitei or (Save Rukia) ark by either the next chapter or the one after that…so enjoy!


	6. Chapter 6

Ch.6 School days…

By DarkFayt

**I'm back! Now I have a few things to address before I continue. First, this fic will be told from Naruto's point of view. I will try to retell the important powers and events of the **'Bleach'** timeline from Ichigo's view the best I can but this is a Naruto centric fic so if you haven't seen **'Bleach'** or stayed up to date with either **'Naruto'** or **'Bleach'** this will be hard for you to enjoy.**

**Next, I have gotten a few complaints (4) that Naruto isn't strong enough for being a 3 tailed former demon Hokage. First let me say that the 3 tailed Bijuu was defeated by Dedara in the manga and Orochimaru was insulting the power of the 3 tails Naruto. That doesn't give a very good view of JUST 3 tails to me.**

**For Naruto's strength and skill in my fic as of now…well let me put his strength this way…if he was facing Orochimaru NOW then the Hebi would be dead already. In this world Naruto is not only without most if his jutsu but he's still unsure of what works and what doesn't. He will get stronger quickly once he has time but for now he barely has had time to breath. The big problem here is that Naruto's youki is about: **

**80 percent physical energy (or Kai) and 20 percent is spiritual (or Reiatsu) Not enough… **

**He is having to focus large amounts of youki to gather enough spiritual power just to touch the Hollow let along attack it. His focus is split between controlling enough youki, fighting the Hollow, and watching the others. It's like a normal person seeing a ghost and trying to hit it. Naruto can see it but he's not a Shinigami…yet. **

**This is where his problems are coming in. Before he had his Zanpaku-to. Not only did that give him a weapon of solidified spiritual energy to use but he was able to draw on it as well to reinforce his own.**

**Like I said, Naruto will get stronger quickly once he has time…but hundreds of years between fights, unknown enemies, new world, weird people screaming at him, and a sword dropping into his back…give the guy a break! He only arrived the day before yesterday. **

**Other then that enjoy the fic and the next update will come when I figure out if Naruto will get his 'Shikai' first or…other powers…Opinions anyone? **

"Normal Talking"

"**Demonic talking"**

"_Thinking"_

"_**Kyuubi talking/thinking"**_

"HIGHER BEING talking"

**Jutsu or Sp. Power/Attack being used**

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It only took Naruto a moment break the tree line to reach where he had tracked Ichigo and the Hollow. The sounds of battle permeated the forest to Naruto even with the falling rain. The sight Naruto came to was one he would remember for years to come…not for the level of battle…no. He had seen genin perform better…but he would remember for what he would hear…

"That's the definition of 'careless', BOY!" was all the Hollow said…

Naruto and Rukia watched as Ichigo blocked a deadly strike from the Hollow's left hand with his Zanpaku-to…only to have the Hollow's grotesque red hand distort before extending claws to pierce through Ichigo's chest!

Naruto's fur bristled as his muscles tensed to move out of instinct but he knew with the claws still impaling Ichigo an attack on the Hollow now could cause more harm then good.

Ichigo leaned against his sword after stabbing it into the ground to keep himself from falling. He coughed and spat trying to ignore the stabbing pain and the shifting of the claw through his chest as his blood slowly fell to mix with the rain…

"Impulsive…you're impulsive! You sent away your comrades on a fleeting emotion…and on fleeting emotion, you lunge at your enemy! And, in this way you will perform for my amusement and die at the end!"

Naruto listened to every word that the Hollow spoke…and would grind his teeth with every word it spoke. The damn thing was mocking Ichigo and his feelings for his mother. It was mocking all of them…even HIM and it was clear when it's other arm regenerated. The arm Naruto had cut off! Even Naruto took a darker mood. The thing had been playing with them the whole time…and now it was taunting him. Baring its clawed hand at Ichigo as its eyes locked with his. It was clear to Naruto, 'move and I kill this boy…so we can have our fun…'

Naruto knew…if he moved it would mean Ichigo's life. It was a sick game he had seen many play. Taunt the weakest member of a team into battle and use them to weaken the stronger…and the tactic had never failed.

Rukia ran past Naruto before he could stop her. Naruto watched in horror as the Hollow raised its clawed hand at the approaching girl as she cried, "Ichigo!"

Then the Hollow stopped…Rukia stopped…even Naruto was rooted to his place as Ichigo spoke, "Stay away! Keep away, Rukia! I'm going to beat him! Even if my arms get severed…even if my legs get tossed…I'll beat him!" It wasn't Ichigo's words or even what he was doing that had them all still. It was his eyes…Naruto had seen them worn by men before…and he didn't want to see them again.

"That is why you will die…" Said the Hollow as it lowered it's hand, "Because you are young, you anger easily. Because you anger, your heart is in chaos…and because your heart is in chaos, your blade is dulled."

Naruto knew this was his chance. To strike and end this foolish fight the moment the Hollow lowered it's hand…but something in this boys eyes made him not want to move. To let him learn a lesson. To see what would happen. Naruto didn't know what it was. If it was the raw emotion in the eyes or the split second…that one moment…Naruto could have sworn he saw those brown eyes flash white.

"It's over, boy! You are far too young to fight with me!" cried the Hollow as it raised the lure above it's head.

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It was cruel…horrible to even Naruto who had seen true atrocities that the Hollow had taken to using Ichigo's own mother to defend itself from the young Shinigami. Whether it was simply a fake or not didn't matter…it was the fact that this Hollow had killed Ichigo's mother and was now using her image to distract Ichigo.

Naruto's blood was boiling…damn what ever this feeling was! He knew how he would kill the Hollow, could even see how it would play out inside his mind but the moment his muscles tensed and he lowered himself to shoot off towards his latest massacre he heard Rukia's soft voice float through the rain, "No…don't interfere. This is Ichigo's fight…"

Naruto was shocked. Livid even that this girl would abandon her friend when he was injured like this with such a disgusting advantage against him, **"You want him to die? He's already injured and now that filthy Hollow is using his own mother against him! How can you think of leaving him?"**

"Listen to me," was Rukia's ghostly reply as Ichigo began to climb back to his feet, "If-if we help him now we can…save Ichigo…but what of his pride?"

"**Pride?"**, Naruto looked on trying to decide on what to do. It seemed ridiculous to talk of pride when a life was on the line. This wasn't a competition or game but her words continued and Naruto seemed drawn to listen…

"Please…listen. Someone once told me that there are two kinds of fights. A fight to defend life, and a fight to defend pride! We-we must always know the difference! If we help Ichigo now then I know he'll be alright…"

"**Vengeance is it?" **asked Naruto to the night sky as the rain continued to fall. It took Naruto a moment to understand Rukia's words…it seemed utter foolishness to think of pride when a life was on the line, **"But…is this for Ichigo's pride or is this for revenge?" **The question stung the air even with the falling rain. Rukia stayed silent as she wrapped he arms around herself. Not sure of the answer herself, **"There is more then just a fight to defend life and pride. I have seen those how fight for many reason. Money, status, women, fun…if this is truly a battle for Ichigo's pride then I won't get involved any further…but I have seen what happens to those that seek revenge over what is truly important…and I will not allow such a battle."**

Ichigo slowly turned his head as he heard the same resounding voice from earlier. He was shocked to see the oppressive being before him. The crimson fur, shined black armor, and those red eyes…even under the falling rain it was enough to stop anyone but it wasn't only the appearance of it that caused Ichigo to stare…it was the words of the being that stole his attention…

"**All revenge causes is more pain. It's a poison…a disease that never leaves you. To take a life…in anyway but to defend another's…it leaves a stain on your soul…a stain that only you can see or feel but it's a stain that will weigh you down. If you allow your heart to be driven by revenge…it will disappear little by little…until revenge is al there is…"**

The clearing was silent but for the rain falling until, "You're right…" it caught everyone's attention. Ichigo had his head lowered as he sword slacked in his hand, "Right here and now…this is revenge for my mother." Naruto bared his fangs as his claws dug into the soft ground, "But, it's not for hatred…it's…there isn't anyone else here…please…only my life is on the line now. It was my fault that this thing killed my mother so I have to…"

Everyone…including the Hollow waited to see what the crimson beast would do. Naruto was silent until…Naruto laid down, **"Fine…do what you want. If you fail then I'll finish it off…so don't die…"**

The Hollow seemed to laugh, "What fools you are! To think two pathetic Shinigami and their pet could defeat me!" Naruto merely looked on as he locked eyes with the Hollow…the Hollow blinked as it took a step back.

Ichigo tore the ground from beneath his feet with a burst of power as he charged the Hollow…until the lure in his mothers image appeared before him.

"Don't, Ichigo. Put your sword away. Don't kill mommy. Please…" Naruto and Rukia watched as Ichigo stopped before the image of his mother…and as the Hollow drove a spiked tentacle through his right shoulder…

Naruto's tails swished behind him violently as he looked on. Rukia took a deep in hail as Ichigo's sword feel to the ground after his arm lost the strength to hold it. It was then that the other Shinigami from before entered the clearing drawing Naruto's attention for but a moment until the Hollow began to speak.

"I told you. Anger dulls the blade. It will be over with the next attack, boy. Let me pay my respects to you. Of all the Shinigami I've encountered, you were the youngest, the most impulsive…and by far the WEAKEST!" Spoke the Hollow as it raised it's had yet again to extend it's deadly claws.

Naruto was already moving to stop the Hollow as Rukia screamed out Ichigo's name but it was then that the Hollows lure began to fire off bolts of energy that forced Naruto to leap back. It was the mothers soma…her dieing wish that had been left imprinted on this Hollow…

"Ichigo…" said the shining visage of his mother, "I'm so proud. Dad…Karin…Yuzu…and you, Ichigo. I'm truly proud to have known you. Ichigo, live. Be strong. Be gentle. And smile. Ichigo, thank you…' was all the visage of his mother was able to say before she disappeared into the light she had created.

"**What…happened to her?" **asked Naruto a little shocked…

"A soma is someone's dieing wish that's left behind as they die and pass on. Not all souls need guidance from a Shinigami to pass on if they have lived a good life being loved. That was only her final message to her loved ones before the light of her own soul allowed her to pass on…" said Rukia only for Naruto to stare off into the distance…

Naruto stared on if for only a moment as his mind wandered, _"Did…she pass like that…was there a message for…"_

Ichigo then grabbed hold of the spike through his shoulder as he began t stand, "Anger dulls the blade? You may be right. But…you're wrong about one thing. To beat a loser like you…a dull blade is more then enough!" Ichigo then tore the spike from his shoulder as he drove his sword deep into the Hollows side and tore it through its shoulder for the Hollow to scream in pain.

"AHHHH!!!, shit, shit, I won't forgive you! Just a mere Shinigami!" before Ichigo could give chase the Hollow flew into the night sky to disappear into the clouds.

Naruto watched as the Hollow disappeared into the sky…too many thoughts and questions bouncing crossing his mind to care about it anymore. He wouldn't aid in anyone's revenge…even against something like that…never.

Naruto had seen many things this night. Things he hadn't considered and even more questions for when he returned to the shop…one thing was for certain…he didn't know nearly enough. He had thought it would have been easy in this world. As soon as he had arrived Yoruichi had appeared…then Urahara. It just seemed the easier thing was to be lead around until he had learned enough…it seemed he couldn't wait that long…

"Ichigo, stop, it! That's enough." cried Rukia as she ran to his bleeding side and placed her hands on his shoulders, "Neither you nor he can fight anymore. The fight is over!"

"Not yet! He's not dead yet! I still haven't…" it was then that a harsh growl reached Ichigo's ears stopping him in his tracks.

"**You see…this is the pain that comes of revenge. If you had fought to protect you would have won. The Hollow was right. Not only was your blade dulled by your anger but your mind was clouded by revenge but in the end your mother brought you back to your senses…never forget that now you have been saved from that Hollow by your mother twice. The first was from the Hollow's evil and this time was from your own foolishness. There is no such battle…not for revenge. Never fight with it in your heart again. It's pointless."**

It was then that Ichigo's strength finally faded and he fell into Rukia's arms as his blood slowly flowed into the grass to be washed away by the rain…Naruto then slowly moved towards Ichigo as he laid one of his tails over Ichigo's shoulder and chest.

"**I've never tried healing a Shinigami before so I'm not sure it will work…"** in a small flicker of light the two rings on Naruto's tails began to spin much to his surprise drawing spirit particles to Ichigo's wounds. In a moment it was as if they were never their at all. Even the clothes had been fixed. Both Shinigami looked on with awe as Naruto began to turn away and walk towards the forest…

"Wait!" called Rukia, "Who are you? Why did you help us?"

Naruto looked back for a moment before saying, **"We'll leave that for another day but lets just say we were after the same thing and it just ended up that Ichigo had a better reason then I did for hunting the Hollow…Ja-Ne."**

In an instant a blue light flooded the area blinding all for an instant…once Rukia was able to see again she was able to catch the last glimpses of a small blue flame disappearing into the trees…

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Yoruichi was flying through the trees faster then she would normally dare to travel in the human world for fear of being discovered. Even she couldn't travel at this speed for long with the small amount of spirit particles in the human world...even 'Shunpo' had a limit for how long it could be used before it began to affect not only the area but her Gigai as well...

"Damn it…I never should have let him out of my sight like that! What was I thinking? He's barely been here a few days and I let him wander the city by himself? Anything could have happened!" these and many other grim thoughts passed through her mind as she continued to head towards where she could feel Naruto's…unique energy when she spotted a small blue light speeding past her leaving a blue streak behind it as it speed across the forest floor.

Once it passed it only took her a moment to sense it…, "Naruto! Wait, I'm over here!" called Yoruichi as she wondered if talking to a ball of blue light was normal…at least she did until it flew up to the branch she was standing on. She seemed shocked for a moment. It was something new to see a small ball of blue flame floating before you.

In a small flash of light Naruto was standing there just as she remembered him. Blonde hair, jeans, black shirt, weapons…all the same…except where before he had a permanently happy glow to him…he now looked tired. Even weary with a strangely calculating look to his eye as he gazed at her…but not at her really she realized. It was as if he was looking past her and she was the way to get where he was looking.

"Naruto?" asked Yoruichi unsure, "What…happened? Where were you and why are you looking at me like that?"

Naruto remain quiet for a moment as his steely blue eyes never left amber yellow ones, "There are many thing we need to discuss about this world and how it works…starting with what a Hollow…truly is."

Yoruichi blinked for a moment almost unnerved by the sound of his voice. So commanding…and wise sounding…like he was talking to a child and would hear no excuses, "They…are lost souls that became corrupt by staying in the real world too long or turned by other Hollows feeding on them…there's not much more to them. They are beings that have lost their hearts and are driven by base instincts…"

Naruto's eyes sharpened, "Really? From how you just spoke of them they sound like nothing more then animals driven by the instinct to feed?" Naruto then moved closer to Yoruichi as he stared into her eyes, "I just fought one along side another Shinigami a moment ago and the thing was anything but an animal. Intelligent, devious, strategically, and evil to the core…if there truly is an entire world of these things then how powerful do they get…"

She knew he would figure it out eventually. That Hollow were more then simple animals to be kept at bay but she had hoped to keep him ignorant of the true dangers of Hollow for a time. It wasn't that she wished to lie to him…she just didn't want to weigh him down after just arriving. He may have not told her everything about his life but it was clear from what he had said that it was one…soaked in blood he never wished to draw and when he seemed so excited about the idea of slaying monsters she couldn't help but think he looked like a child that had heard a fairytale and couldn't wait to dream of it with themselves as the hero…but now seeing into these eyes…she knew this was no child, no person to be babied or cared for. This was someone that was far beyond her even if she was stronger then him at the moment…but she knew…that too would change soon…if she tried fooling him…

"I…will tell you everything I know about them once we get back to the shop. Urahara found out some thing about you that will help greatly. While he finishes some of his tests I'll tell you what I can…"

Naruto merely nodded as he began walking back to the shop with Yoruichi following close behind thinking, _"What happened out there to cause this kind of change? And what Shinigami did he fight with against a Hollow? The only ones I know about in the area are Kuchiki and Kurosaki…this could get complicated if he gets mixed up with those two…especially if he gains strength like he has been…even now he feels close to vice-captain level…and it's only been 3 days…what could a 9 tails become? If we allow him to decide sides now…it could end everything!"_

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**(3 days later…)**

Naruto frowned as he rolled over in bed. He hadn't needed to sleep because of his demonic body for eons but he always had enjoyed it when he had the chance to but now he couldn't sleep for the life of him. He wasn't even tired after all the training he had put himself through…it seemed the only time he truly tired was after severe injury…it was annoying having to learn the ins and outs of a body again.

"_This human body may heal almost as well as my demon one but it seems to have it's limit to how much it can heal before needing rest…if only I could access my hanyo form things would be far easier…I wonder why I still can't? I can change into my demon form but I can't take on any others…I can't even get into touch with Kyuubi!"_ thought Naruto as he rolled over in bed to stare at the alarm clock '5:11am' He would have to get up soon for his first day of school and he was actually dreading the idea…

He had spent the last few days locked inside the training area beneath the Urahara shop trying to discover what worked in this world and what was useless. He had wanted to train with his sword and discover more of his spiritual powers but not only was he not able to get into touch with Kyuubi but every time he turned his back Urahara had run off with his sword again to do tests. It was frustrating but he figured it was for the best in the end. He had figured out what powers was useful and what was pointless because of it…

Elements were one thing he found utterly pointless in this world. He had no way to use jutsu normally because of his youki and gathering elemental energy was too weak here. Every jutsu and manipulation he knew was far too weak or simply didn't do what he wanted it too. He had tried for hours to find anything that would work but even the most useful jutsu such as the Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu that could be made as powerful as you like was nothing more then a flashy show…it was rather depressing. He had gone through nearly his entire ninja carrier with barely 10 jutsu and now that he had a chance to make use of the literally thousands he had seen and created over the years…they were useless since most relied on the elements. When he really thought about it his library only consisted of a few dozen jutsu that were pure chakra…

The Jutsu he seemed to be able to make use of were his old and trusted Kage Bunshin Jutsu in all their glory, many Genjutsu to his surprise and his Kitsune illusions, his shape-shifting abilities…were limited for some reason. He could change to his demon form or change his looks as a human but anything else was…impossible. It frustrated him but to his surprise his Fuin Jutsu still worked perfectly or any jutsu purely reliant on chakra. Such as his trusted Rasengan!

Urahara was kind enough to set up several proxy spiritual bodies for him to train with to see what worked properly…and he wasn't satisfied in the least. He was just as powerful with 3 tails here as he was in his world. Maybe even more so for some unknown reason but the amount of concentration…and the magnitude of the attacks he needed to affect a spiritual being was ludicrous!

He was using jutsu that would be considered high A-rank that could reduce land to ash…and it did! They earth and stone of the training field was scorched and smashed under his power but there was so little spiritual power in it that the damned manikins made it out with damage and burns that a D to C-rank Katon jutsu would cause!

He couldn't help but laugh at himself! If he was home the hidden villages would have been scared shitless of the power he was producing and yet it seemed his only useful attacks at the moment were his Rasengan variations for being pure chakra attacks and his own body when he focused enough youki to attack head on…

This was not acceptable in the least but he had no clue how to increase spiritual power. He knew of it since it was a component of chakra and youki…and some Jutsu required a higher amount of it but it was so useless to a normal shinobi he never bothered to study it. The only powers he could even think of that used spiritual power in excess were some rare Kekkai Genkai and medical Jutsu…

Naruto chuckled darkly as he said, "Damn…Sakura-chan can even mess with me after all these years can't she…" Naruto stared at the ceiling after rolling over once again, "I can just hear her now saying, 'yah Naruto no Baka! I told you to learn some medical Ninjutsu!' I'm sure she'd love to see me now…yah…I would…"

Naruto slowly sat up as he looked at his clock again '6:14am' and groaned, "I guess I lost track of time…oh that's right! I'm supposed to work at the shop after school today. Urahara said he would have a training program set up to help increase my spiritu…I mean Reiatsu. I wonder what he has planned?"

Naruto stood and began going through the new routine he had gained over the last few days. Get up, shower, groom, check over his weapons, dress, eat the breakfast of champions! 2 Chicken ramen with a fresh egg and a side of 3 miso ramen before setting out for the day.

He had found early on that wearing his supply pouch and leg holster was going to be a problem in this world. Apparently these people looked down at carrying weapons! Strange people indeed thought Naruto. He decided to play it safe and still keep his weapons even if it was dangerous but he figured that if anyone asks he could easily use a small mind trick or illusion to get around any…insinuations. 5 millennia straight with his weapons was nothing to break after all.

Naruto easily looked over his holster. He had long ago changed from a simple 2 slot holster to a 3 since he carried shuriken, normal kunai, and a decent amount of his 3 pronged kunai just in case. Even though he hadn't needed them for hundreds of years he might have to take the Hirishin up again if things didn't go as he hoped with his training.

His supply pouch on the other hand was his life! With several decades of study and several failed attempts he had created a pouch that had greater room on the inside then it had surface area! Even he didn't truly know how it had come about that way but it worked. He carried everything from scrolls and books to spears and cook wear inside of it. All it took was a little rummaging and the proper chakra strings and pop! There it was…he had wondered for awhile what would happen if he merely turned it over and shook…but he didn't wish to take that chance of what would fall out. He had lost track long ago of what he had shoved in there…he still remembered the time he had put one of the last holders of a cursed seal in there as a way to transport him to prison and had forgotten about him…it was rather inconvenient when Naruto had been looking for a roll of toilet paper in there and the man had popped out with the second level active…, _"Never again…"_ was all that Naruto could think as he shuddered at the image…

Naruto then exited his door in his new uniform. After locking it he couldn't help but sigh loudly as he looked over his new MANDATORY uniform. Grey pants with a grey button down shirt was not what he considered appealing. Red, white, orange, black…these were colors that he liked. His new favorite black shoes and long blonde hair was just put to waste now…he may have not been vary vain about anything but he had come to take pride in his mane over the years and this uniform clashed horrible. He even had his blonde color back that he had missed since becoming a demon and now it even flowed to just in between his shoulder blades, "Definitely going to have to figure something out to get some color into this…"

As Naruto walked to school he began to see many people wearing the same uniform as him and he couldn't help but think how boring this school thing would be. He already had his Kage Bunshin memorize all the textbooks they had given him and the information seemed pointless. Why go through the trouble of using math to figure out trajectory when he could just look and see it? These people were all too strange.

Naruto even had Kage Bunshin rummage through whatever he could find in Urahara's shop so he could get more information on the world in general so school was rather pointless at this point but he thought he'd give it a try since Urahara had gone to the trouble of getting him in. At any rate he had nothing better to do at the moment. Neither of his new 'employers' …had a mission for him and his training had hit a dead end for the moment and exploring the city seemed to prove rather…dangerous. He'd forgotten that he was rather popular with women ever since he grew out his hair and grew out of his teens. He had been reminded in a very…unwelcome way when he entered something called a mall…he still felt bad that he had always given Sasuke such a bad time about his fan girls…they truly were the ultimate opponent that no man could defeat, _"I need to get a girlfriend again…that was always my solution before…"_

As Naruto neared the gates of his new school he realized he had too many questions to be answered after he had returned from the battle with the Hollow. Even though he had gotten most of his answers from Yoruichi about the Hollow and what they were capable of even more questions arose…questions he wasn't even sure of himself…more like a feeling that there was more to know and even so he still couldn't believe what he had heard from Urahara about himself and his connection to Hollow in the first place…

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**(2 days ago…)**

After another day of being poked and prodded by Urahara after his fight with the Hollow Naruto had finally had enough and had asked to be set up in his own apartment like he had been promised and all in all he had to thank the strange man. His apartment was very nice compared to what he had when he was a child. 2 bedroom, full bathroom, living room, and separate kitchen. It was even fully furnished and stocked when he moved in with an envelope of spending money on the counter. His fridge was even well stocked…Urahara had even filled a cabinet with ramen! In a way Naruto was actually rather willing to be prodded after seeing the benefits…even if he would prefer a normal mission instead.

So when he showed up the next day he sat quietly and allowed Urahara to take his readings and samples of blood just as the last few days but this time Naruto just sat still as he asked, "Urahara-san, I know Yoruichi explained Hollow to me yesterday but I was wondering if you could tell me once more before you explain how I'm similar to one…"

Urahara was rather taken back by the turn around. The last few times he had to keep Naruto in the chair by force to get his samples with Yoruichi keeping him entertained for the time it took to get his readings but here he was calm and quiet asking simple question, "Ahh, very well Naruto-san. I have no problem with that since it will take another few minutes to finish my tests. What would you like to know?"

Naruto stopped for a moment to think over what Yoruichi had told him the day before, "I understand how a Hollow becomes a Hollow and that they feed on humans and plus souls. What I'm unclear about is the levels of Hollow and how they become stronger as well as their connection to me…"

"Those are some very good questions Naruto-san. I can see that you are as old as you say you are…" said Urahara as he finished marking his findings, "We are unsure of how Hollow gain their strength. It's different for each one. Some gain it by simply feeding, others by age, and some just appear as powerful as they are. That is at least in the lower classes of Hollow. Hollow themselves can be split into three main groups. Lesser Hollow, Hollow, and Gillian. Lesser Hollow are too weak to be concerned with or are souls in the process of becoming Hollow." Naruto nodded from hearing of this several times now but he wasn't going to be rude. What he truly wished to know of were the Gillian…but he could wait.

"Alright, lesser Hollow are nothing. Even students in the Shinigami academy can take care of them correct?" asked Naruto to see Urahara nod in response as he studied Naruto's sword.

"Correct, the next level is Hollow and this is the most common with literally more then can be counted of them in every shape and strength level you can imagine. These are the one's to be careful of. You can never be sure if they have the intelligence of an animal or are very cunning. Never take any of them for granted. Kill them quickly and cleanly and move on. That's all I can tell you about them really. Each one must be assessed separately to determine it's level."

Naruto again nodded. Yoruichi had made them sound like more of an annoyance then anything else so he was feeling much better with Urahara's explanation, "So an enemy that is large in number and can be weak or strong with no way of telling so before hand? Sounds like the 5th Great Ninja war all over again…" said Naruto to only receive a strange 'Umm' sound from Urahara, "Oh, sorry…in the ninja world shinobi were classified by their level of strength. Genin, Chuunin, Special Jounin, Jounin, ANBU, and Kage. Each wore different gear and symbols to show their status normally but in that war several small villages banded together with Iwa…one of the larger ones. In that war none of the shinobi of that army wore anything to show their class and because of that many shinobi fought out of their class and gave Iwa the advantage. Eventually I too had to step into that war…to say more died then needed to would be an understatement. Even the commanders stayed hidden in the ranks so there was no choice but to fight until there was a surrender…many died."

Urahara nodded his head thinking what it would be like if there was ever an open war between Seireitei and Hueco Mundo…the idea was very grim, "There's no need to worry about that here Naruto-san. Hollow in general are very animalistic. Very few have intelligence like the one you told me of but if they do it's a very good sign of their power. The last kind of Hollow are the Menos class."

Naruto tried to remember what he had heard about these things before but he was coming up blank other then they were the most powerful and dangerous, "These are the big one's right? The one's that only seated officers go after?"

"Yes, they are very dangerous and almost never leave Hueco Mundo unless attracted by very high spirit energy or are ordered to go by a more powerful Menos. As you know Hollow must devour human souls and spirit energy it compensate for losing their heart. Over time human souls are not enough to sustain a Hollow and the hole in their chest widens. At this point they turn to eating other Hollow…"

Naruto's face almost turned green at that point. He had heard some twisted things but this was up there, "A Menos is formed by Hollow eating Hollow and then being eaten themselves in a never ending cycle. Eventually a Gillian is born from this but they too continue to eat other Hollow. There are two forms of Gillian. Those without a conscious that will never evolve. They count in the thousands and then…there are those that maintain the mind of one of the many Hollow that made it up as well as a unique mask. These intelligent ones are very few maybe 1 out of 100 is able to maintain a mind and has the chance to ascend to the next level by continuing the cycle and become an Adjuchus."

Naruto nodded his head in understanding as Urahara continued his work. It may have been more fun hearing all this from Yoruichi but Urahara made it far easier to understand, "Ok, so Menos become Menos because some Hollow eat each other. Because of this a Gillian is born and is either a brainless animal with matching masks to the other brainless ones." Naruto looked at Urahara to see him nod under his hat, "But some are able to keep the mind of a Hollow that made them up and because of this they are able to become Adjuchus. The next level of power in the Menos."

"Yes, Adjuchus are much smaller then Gillian. Nearly the size of humans. They are very intelligent and fast. In terms of battle capability they could easily fight with a Vice-captain with a high chance of victory but there aren't many of these as I said. Think of Gillian as foot soldiers with the Adjuchus as their commanders. There is not much to tell about these ones other then to be very careful of them. They do not survive to be what they are by chance…finally there is the strongest of the Menos."

"Vasto-lorde…" was the only thing to leave Naruto's mouth.

"Yes, no one is sure how an Adjuchus becomes a Vasto-lorde but there are very few…but the fact is…a Vasto-lorde has battle capabilities that even surpass that of a captain class Shinigami. They are believed to reside in the very depths of Hueco Mundo. They are believed to even have surpassed the need to feed on other Hollow or even humans. No Shinigami has ever faced one and survived…not even captains."

Naruto nodded as he sorted through the information to be sure he understood it and hoped he would be able to tell the difference between the classes when the time came, "Thanks, it would be pretty bad to pick a fight with the wrong Hollow. Especially since spiritual power can affect me all it wants and I need to struggle to fight against it…so unfair…"

Urahara just broke out into laughter, "AH!, that's right I haven't told you yet have I? Well you see your energy is mostly physical energy that is unused by Shinigami with only a small portion being spiritual power. This is why you are having so much trouble." Naruto merely looked on with a 'Duh!' look in his eyes, "Oh? Already knew that did you? But what if I told you that Hollow were that same way…"

This had Naruto falling out of his chair as he gapped like a fish at Urahara, "I know Yoruichi said that my youki felt similar to a Hollow's but to be the same? And if that's true why am I having so much trouble fighting?" asked Naruto.

"I suppose 'same' was a little much to use. You see your energy is about 80 percent physical energy and 20 percent spiritual. A Hollow is the opposite with their bulk being spiritual…about 90 percent. You see when a spirit becomes a Hollow they regain some of the energy from their physical body. This is why it feels, looks, and acts the way it does. It's also why Hollow can so easily affect humans. It takes a certain amount of spiritual power to be affective but the smallest amount of Ki will allow contact with the living."

Naruto nodded yet again in understanding. It made sense after all, "But this still leaves the problem of me not being able to fight against Hollow with my current power…and I can't always rely on my Zanpaku-to…"

"Now you just leave that to me Naruto-san. All I need is to finish my studies and experiments and I'm sure we can help you!"

"And how do you plan to do that Urahara?" asked Naruto while climbing back into his seat, "It's not like I can just train to gain more spiritual energy."

"Actually…that's the plan!" said Urahara a little too happily, "It's true that I can't just convert your energy over but I can cause your body to create more spiritual energy and less physical. In the mean time just continue with your own projects and always come when I ask for tests…if everything pans out we should be ready to start training in a few days…"

Naruto blinked as he listened to Urahara's voice travel from a higher jolly one to a deep and serious one that seemed to darken the mood of the store. After a few moment of hearing nothing other then the rhythmic sounds of the machines Naruto asked, "And just what is this training and it's goal?"

Urahara turned to Naruto with only his one eye visible under the shade of his hat, "The training is that of a Shinigami and the goal is to take you from 20 percent to around 30. At this point you should be able to interact far easier. Just the 10 percent would make all the difference but what I truly wish to achieve is a complete 50/50 saturation…a perfect union of spiritual and physical energies. The first of it's kind."

"What would that cause?" asked Naruto completely unsure of what to say at this point from the sound of Urahara's voice.

"Maybe…the birth of a god or monster…for all I know it will do nothing other then make it easier for you here but the one thing for sure is…you would be the first one to do such a thing…"

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Naruto still couldn't believe that gaining spiritual power was that easy but he supposed he would have to wait until after school. He was supposed to meet with the principal in a few minutes to take some placement tests and sign some papers.

It only took Naruto a few moments to reach the door of the principal to hear the crying of a man and when he walked through the door Naruto say a small balding man sitting behind a desk with an ordinary looking women to his right. When Naruto turned his head he saw a large man in only a red muscle shirt and grey sweat pants crying over one thing or another. Then he saw an open window and several people running away. Naruto raised an eyebrow until he saw it…the boy with orange hair, "Ichigo?" asked Naruto to himself only to here the large man begin to yell.

"YOU! You know those hoodlum don't you?!" questioned the man as he grabbed a hold of Naruto's shirt. It only took Naruto a second to grab the mans arm and easily flip him with little effort. The balding man stood from his chair with an awed look on his face.

"You should never attack someone like that unless you are open to a response…" After a moment of looking the man over Naruto merely walked over to the principal and said, "Good morning, my name Namikaze Naruto and I was told to come here before attending classes. There was a mention of placement tests in the letter I received…"

It only took the principal a moment to respond, "Aw…yes, Naruto-kun, I apologize for that…he is a little hasty." Naruto merely shrugged his shoulders as he motioned for the man to continue, "Well since you are your own guardian we needed you to sign several papers to start classes here. Also it seems there was an accident at your old school and your transcripts are incomplete. Because of this we need you to take a few tests to not only give you a class ranking but to figure out if you will even be accepted."

Naruto just nodded as he caught the female teacher staring at him, "You know for a teacher to look at a student like that is rather scandalous these days…" this of course brought a ravaging blush to the poor women as both men stared at him with wide eyes, "I came from a rather rough junior high…so which one of you will be giving the tests and how long should they take?"

"I will actually be the one to give the tests Naruto-kun," said the principal as he stood from his seat, "We will begin now and should be done in a few hours. Most likely just before lunch so they may be graded and we can add you to the class rankings. You have actually come at the perfect time. If you score well enough you could shoot up the rankings easily…of course we are only at the half semester rankings so you will have to hold onto it even if you get a high one! The rankings are very competitive at this school."

Naruto just shook his head at the mans attempts to spur him on and just followed close behind as he walked out of the room behind the small man…, _"This is going to be annoying if all the teachers are going to treat me as a child…"_

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Kurasaki Ichigo frowned, it was turning out to be just another normal day in his life starting with his father trying to assault him and getting beat up for the attempt. Then eating breakfast with his sisters before heading to school. It seemed strange…just days ago he had faced his mothers killer and failed to do anything against it…and that strange dog/fox thing had lectured him about it. Ever since it appeared that day Rukia had been non stop about finding it but even with this hanging over his head he couldn't get over something else that was bothering him. Something he should have ignored…but couldn't.

He had noticed someone his age he had never seen before dressed in a school uniform walking through the hall with the principal and Orihime had been blabbering about some new person in the apartment across from her. Ichigo should have shrugged it off just like anything else but for some reason it stuck in his head. He was apparently a new student and she wouldn't stop talking about the guys hair for some reason. Ichigo hadn't noticed anything strange about it. Although he had been looking at the guy from across the school court yard.

What he was really frowning about though was because he had sensed something different about the guy even with only that one glance he got something…powerful and dark. He didn't know what it was but he guessed it was spiritual power like he had. The ability to see ghosts and all that but he had never been good at sensing anything so he would just wait and ask Rukia.

Ichigo ignored Keigo's posturing about something as someone else entered the class room followed by the principal. He glanced towards them but fully turned to face them as he realized it was the new kid. The new guy was tall about as tall as Ichigo himself, he was broad shouldered and looked fit like a fighter with just slightly more muscle mass then Ichigo himself. Ichigo noted he moved like a fighter too…stealthy, quiet, fast, and graceful.

Even the way he breathed seemed controlled and calm. He was a blonde…that easily said why he was getting so much attention. It was rare to find natural blondes around but that wasn't the only thing. Even Ichigo had to admit that this guys hair was…well…lack of a better term for one guy to use on another…girlish. It was far too well cared for from what Ichigo could see. There was no way hair could be that shiny and smooth without some major care and the length made it look like a girls from behind but Ichigo was the last person to mess with someone over their hair.

The principal talked with the teacher for a moment before saying something to the boy before leavening the room. The guy smiled as he looked over the room before stopping when his eyes met Ichigo's. It only took a moment before he walked over to Ichigo and his little group of Keigo, Chad, and Mizuiro. He simply held out his hand staring Ichigo right in the eyes and said, "Hello, I'm new here. Who are you guys?"

Ichigo grunted as he decided girly hair or not he wasn't going to hold anyone in contempt for their hair, "My names Kurasaki Ichigo…" a weird look flashed across Naruto's face, "What going to make fun of my name?" he asked.

"Wouldn't dream of it. I'd be a hypocrite my name's Namikaze Naruto."

"Maelstrom, huh?" asked Ichigo already starting to like this new guy.

"Got that right…strawberry." Ichigo growled but he suppressed a grin at the twinkle in Naruto's eye.

"Whatever fishcake…" Naruto laughed and was quickly introduced to the rest of the gang. Mizuiro just smiled as he greeted Naruto but Keigo had said something along the lines of it being unfair that Naruto got along with Ichigo so simple.

Ichigo had been greatly surprised at his reaction to Chad. Most people had awed and shocked expressions on their face until someone else did the introductions but all Naruto did was look him up, down, and then locked eyes with him and raised his hand saying, "I've seen bigger but not by much…"

Chad chuckled lightly as he took Naruto's hand. Everyone else seemed surprised as Naruto began asking simple questions like is anyone had classes with him, what sports they likes, simple conversation.

Tatsuki walked in feeling very good after smacking Chizuru around after she tried to molest Orihime once again. She then spotted someone she didn't recognize and figured it was the new guy Orihime mentioned. He looked over his shoulder at her since he was talking with Keigo and gave her a dazzling smile. This large smile combined with deep blue twinkling eyes made her stomach do back flips. She fought down a blush and merely smiled in return. She froze when a strange look came into his eyes but dismissed it when she heard someone enter behind her. When she turned she found the petit figure of Kuchiki Rukia behind her. She smiled as she said, "Yo, Kuchiki! How are you after your run with Ichigo earlier?"

Rukia was caught of guard for a moment, "Oh, it wasn't anything like that! I just had something I need help with and Ichigo was close by!"

Tatsuki had a curious look as she said, "But you came looking for him remember? I heard you call for him before you grabbed him?"

Thankfully just as Rukia was going to try something else to distract the girl Orihime walked in and spotted the Naruto talking to Ichigo and said, "Hello, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto turned and beamed at her, "Well if it isn't my new neighbor…Orihime wasn't it?" she nodded and repressed the urge to touch the marks on his cheeks that for some reason she could see. It was strange…he could have sworn they weren't there when he first arrived in this world with a human form and yet now there were three faint whisker marks on each cheek. Almost silver in color and almost impossible to see unless in the proper light but yet she saw them easily?

To Naruto's annoyance she had asked if she could style his hair and had turned her down to her disappointment. He just wasn't sure about that one. She giggled and began to chat to him about different things, neither noticed the astonished looks sent Naruto's way because not only was he paying complete attention to and commenting on Orihime's ramblings but he had also agreed to try her cooking at lunch! Only Tatsuki and the other girls noticed that Naruto was doing something no other boy did while talking to Orihime…he was staring at her face and not at her chest…that in itself got a large amount of respect from every other girl in the class for Naruto.

Soon the teacher arrived and the class sat giving occasional glances Naruto's way, who'd acknowledge the boys with a wave and a wink to the girls which ended up with the female populace blushing heavily. The class went smoothly with Naruto surprising everyone. His manners, way of speaking, sunny personality and even his willingness to help and be helped had everyone in class liking him even before lunch. Many had asked him for help in many things from history, writing, English. Naruto seemed to excel at them all to the point the teacher had stars in her eyes. Then…they started on math and everyone was shocked. Naruto wasn't just bad at math. He was horrible but even with that every question he asked had the teacher blinking. When she had asked him for an answer the first time he didn't have the slightest clue but after about 15 minutes of asking question about what symbol meant what, the use of an equation, or even just asking for help from the people around him Naruto had begun to get the hang of it. He was even able to answer a question by the end of class with a small amount of help from the teacher.

"Yo, Naruto!" called Ichigo as they left the class, "Why do you such so much at math?"

Ichigo got a small slap to the back of his head from Rukia and Tatsuki as they said in unison, "THAT'S RUDE!"

Naruto only laughed good heartedly as he said, "Math has never been my thing. Other stuff I've always had an interest in…" then Naruto thought for a moment, "Plus my last school wasn't as far as you guys are so I think you guys are a few months ahead of me so there were a lot of things I didn't understand."

Everyone just nodded since it was perfectly reasonable that the lesson plan could be different from school to school. As everyone continued to file out of the class room Ichigo and Rukia fell back, "Rukia…do you feel anything different from this guy?" asked Ichigo in a quiet voice.

"You sensed it too I see…I always thought you were horrible at that? I guess with one as different as this even you would notice. I don't know what it is but he isn't a Shinigami or just a human with high spirit power…I'll keep an eye on him. Why not ask him to sit with you at lunch? It will give you a chance to watch him…"

Ichigo merely groaned as he began walking towards Naruto. Naruto himself was having a rather bad time as it was though. Many had asked him to sit with their group at lunch. Even the girls had asked until Mizuiro suggested that they all sit together. Naruto was in no position to disagree even though his mind was on what he had over heard from Ichigo and Rukia, _"So those are the two from that night…and they're already curious about me. Not good…if even Ichigo can sense me then who else can? She just said he wasn't good at sensing…"_

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Ichigo was frowning more than usual. He was planning on inviting Naruto to sit with his group at lunch like Rukia had said to get a better feeling of him but Chad had invited Naruto along with their group for lunch first. Which Ichigo didn't mind since he was planning that anyway but Naruto had been followed by Orihime and Tatsuki, which was slightly annoying but easily tolerable however soon the entire girls group was joining the boys on the roof.

However entertainment had apparently arrived to chase off the tense air…

Tatsuki watched fearfully as Orihime pulled a…thing out of her backpack and broke some of it off handing the smaller piece to Naruto. She snickered slightly when one of the girls mentioned all the food must go to Orihime's breasts. Tatsuki like all the other girls was slightly jealous of her chest size even though she would never admit it. She watched in surprise as Naruto popped the piece of food? In his mouth and chewed slowly then froze.

Ichigo's eyes widened as Naruto ate some of Orihime's food, he had done that once…once being the important word and figured it would be best if Naruto learned from experience. However he along with everyone else's jaws dropped when he swallowed and said "Hmm, interesting…it's like ramen flavored bean paste…can I have some more Orihime-chan?"

Orihime blushed at the title. While others watched in awe and disgust as Naruto ate another large chunk of whatever it was Orihime had made. They eventually got used to it no matter how disturbing; however trouble was brewing its name…Keigo.

Keigo was muttering under his breath about the unfairness of the world when he decided to do something about it. Food was sent flying when he leapt up screaming and pointing a finger at Naruto "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

"Huh?" was Naruto's only rational response. Here he was without any food of his own and trying something that his nose clearly said was hazardous out of pure hunger and had it turn out rather tasty even if it smelled horrible to him but now he's getting yelled at?

Everyone was staring at Keigo in shock, as his outburst continued "Who do you think you are turning up here and trying to have your way with all these pretty girls?"

Naruto blinked a few times before chuckling, "I'm not 'having' my way with them. That's a rather…insinuating term there. You may want to rethink it…" said Naruto in a calm voice while Keigo growled as a couple of girls growled toward Keigo.

Keigo himself was sweating with all several pairs of murderous eyes staring him down. However before he could say anything to save himself Naruto spoke again, "You don't need to worry Keigo, I'm not some random lecher…plus I think I've already got a girl I'm just not sure about it yet…" everyone froze.

Several girls including Orihime and Tatsuki to their own shock were very disappointed to hear he was already interested in a girl. Keigo turned from righteous fury to lecherous curiosity in an instant, "So this girl what is she like, how far have you gotten with her eh?" he sidled up to Naruto who blinked owlishly.

"She's very interesting, tons of fun to be around, very playful, and you asked how far I've gotten with her right?" Keigo nodded and Naruto smiled, "That's really none of your business now is it?"

All the guys face vaulted at the answer. They had been expecting some bragging or joke. Even an insinuation! Not just a flat out no comment. Naruto could see Keigo was about to respond but cut him off, "If you ever wish to get a girl there are 3 simple rules you need to follow to have a chance…"

Now this had everyone's attention. Boys and girls leaned in to overhear, "First is respect…" all the girls had stars in their eyes as the boys raised their eyebrows, "Never ogle a girl in front of her or her friends. Look at their face and talk to them not their chest. No guy can resist looking but be tactful about it and never stare."

The guys nodded as the girls didn't know whether to applaud him or hate him for giving tips that included looking…, "Second, be interested. Never approach a girl based just on looks or…attribute size. Be sure you share interests and actually have something in common. If all you interested in is…physical activities then you are basically insulting them from the get go…"

No this had all the guys wide eyed as the girls were all looking at Naruto with stars in their eyes or looks of awe, "Finally, take your time. There's no hurry. Get to know them, be sure you like them for who they are, and just be sure you have a connection. If you follow these rules not only will most women like you anyway but you're sure to find one just for you. Its that simple…"

The reactions where unique, most of the girls froze not sure what to say. Tatsuki dropped her drink as Orihime almost choked on her food trying to say something. Keigo fell over while Ichigo just gapped like a fish by the end as Mizuiro tried to get Keigo up. Chad just stared as Naruto began to chuckle and took a sip of a can of soda before saying "I'm not lying…it really works. How many times have you guys insulted, been turned down, or been beaten by girls for not doing what I mentioned?"

All the guys stopped to think followed by the girls and it slowly began to add up in their heads. Nearly every time a conflict with one of the girls happened it was over those very things, "Where did you learn this?" asked Chad much to everyone's surprise.

Naruto laughed, "Trust me. It wasn't over night. I had someone very special to me when I was younger that beat the living crap out of me all the time and I was never able to figure out why until my first girlfriend told me that! Every time she would hit me it was because I said something shallow or without thinking…or just for being stupid. All guys are like that sometimes. It like it's in our blood or something but just trying to do those things help immensely…to keep you alive."

All the girls began giggleing as the boys had flashbacks of the beatings they themselves had received and it showed on their faces until Tatsuki asked a simple question "What do your parents say about this?"

"Nothing I think…I've been an orphan since I was born so…I don't think they care about my views very much." Tatsuki looked down in embarrassment obviously sorry but she looked up when she heard a gasp.

Jealousy spiked into her when she saw Orihime hugging Naruto with her more than ample breasts pressing up against his arm. He gave her a small smile "Hay, it's alright I'm fine with it! I lived in a group home until a little while ago and moved into my own apartment which is right across from Hime's here!"

No one asked anymore serious questions of the blonde as they all began to chat with each other. Naruto just sat there and commented when asked or chatted happily when someone wanted. He noticed that Rukia's eyes never left him through the entire time but never let her realize it, _"Hell, I can sense her pathetic energy so its damn sure she can sense mine…but I'm doing all I can to suppress my powers as is. I guess all I can do is wait and see what happens."_

Then Naruto heard Ichigo asking him something sarcastic so he replied back in the same way. After that Naruto and Ichigo occasionally swapping barbed remarks at each other between their own chats…then it happened. Ichigo said something Naruto had never expected…

"Naruto…you dobe…"

It struck deep and everyone could see the shock and maybe pain on Naruto face. Ichigo thought for a moment he had gone too far somehow and was preparing to apologize. Naruto may have been knew but Ichigo figured he was one of the cooler guys around. Just as He was about to say something a foxy grin split across Naruto's face that brought his cheeks just into the right light to show his whisker marks as he said, "That's what you think, Teme!"

Now this had everyone looking between Naruto and Ichigo strangely. What Ichigo had said wasn't nice but it wasn't that mean wither and yet Naruto responded like that? But then Ichigo did something that had everyone breath easily, "That's really hurtful from a fishcake…"

Naruto smiled as he returned with another bard as he thought, "_Oh yeah I'm really liking this world…now if only I could get Yoruichi-chan to teach me that trick I'd be all set…"_

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**Good?**

**Bad?**

**Tar and Feather me?**

What do you all think? The story will be moving faster after this next chapter. I hop to start the rescue ark soon but there's a question I had for all of you first.

**What powers should I focus on first for Naruto?**

**Shinigami?**

**Demon?**

**Other (Hollow, sp. skill, tools, est.) ?**

This really isn't a poll. Its just to get ideas and views. I already have everything planned out. I just don't know what order I want to introduce it in…and I could use some input.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch.7 Trials and Training

By DarkFayt

Ok, I know this was quick but lately between school and work I haven't had much time for writing but I actually got 2 days off in a row this week so yah! I've gotten 2 chapters done for this fic and gotten like 3 outlines done for the next few chapters so hopefully I can get to an update every week or two now. And for all those fans of 'Demonic Nemesis there should be an update sometime in the next few days…

"Normal Talking"

"**Demonic talking"**

"_Thinking"_

"_**Kyuubi talking/thinking"**_

"HIGHER BEING talking"

**Jutsu or Sp. Power/Attack being used**

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As Naruto looked at the faces of the people…children around him and he couldn't help but sigh at how ridiculous it was, _"All this emotion over class rankings? I guess it was a big deal in the academy too but this guy here is crying over it?"_

It was the end of Naruto's first day at school and they had just posted the class rankings just as the principal had said. Naruto though really didn't care in the slightest for them. Just another useless thing he had found in this world like so many others. School was nothing more to him then a way to pass the time, learn more about the world, and interact with others…but when he thought about it that's what it was to everyone else there to…

"Even if these rankings are that important they are only the mid-semester ones…" said Naruto out loud not realizing it.

"That's true but if you're pretty low in the mid-semester it's almost impossible to catch up." said Tatsuki as she walked up with Orihime right next to her and the rest of the group close behind.

"I guess but I really don't see what the point is? Aren't your grades what count?" asked Naruto as he raised an eyebrow.

As the others began to scan the list Tatsuki said, "It's true that your actual grades are what count but your class rankings are recorded each time with them. Some colleges won't even look at you if you're too low or if you move up and down too much."

Naruto just nodded. He had taken sometime to create several Kage Bunshin and Had them use a Henge to look non-descript. That way he could leave them in the library to read up on whatever they found interesting. Colleges had been one of the things he had looked into seeing that the principal had nearly driven him insane about applying early because of his test scores. Naruto listened quietly as Keigo made another display over Ichigo and Chad being higher the 50 in the rankings.

"_I was almost just like this guy when I was a Genin…was I really this annoying? Man, maybe Sakura-chan had a better reason for hitting me then I thought?"_ Naruto continued to listen until finally he heard a screech from Keigo that sounded strangely like his name before the boy was in his face.

"Wha-Wha-WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THE TOP 5!!! YOU JUST GOT HERE TODAY!" Naruto blinked a few times before scanning the board himself seeing that he was in 5th place with Orihime in 3rd.

"I don't know really," said Naruto as he shrugged his shoulders, "I just took the placement tests along with the midterm exams so I would have something to start with since my transcripts got lost," everyone was gapping at Naruto now, "The principal said that I did really well except in math…so I guess that means I must have done well."

"WELL?" asked everyone in unison.

"Naruto, well would be in the top 100 if you started from nothing. You would have had to get nearly perfect scores on everything to even get close to this…" said Tatsuki in an awed voice.

Naruto just shrugged his shoulders again before tuning to walk away as he said, "I've got work after school today so I'll see you guys tomorrow…"

As Naruto left everyone that had heard him was whispering one thing or another. Some saying he was a genius, some asking if he could have cheated, Others wondering what this job was, "If he's 5th on his first day then the number one guy better watch his back." said Ichigo as he turned to look at the board again, "I wonder who that is…Ishida Ametatsu…I wonder who that is?"

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Naruto for one of the few times in his life was scowling…not only did he have to sit through another session of Urahara taking readings of him but Yoruichi wasn't even there to keep him company through it! _"I wonder if this training will even be of any help? Hopefully this won't be anything weird…if Yoruichi was here at least I could ogle her while…wait where did that come from?"_

And now he was being lead into the underground training room again, "Today Naruto-san will be the last day I will take any readings for some time. It will also be the first day of your training. For the next 72 hours you will train here with me to awaken your spiritual power to its full extent…or what I believe it to be…"

Naruto blinked at the strange attitude and the fact that everyone from the store was there except Yoruichi, "No more readings? Why's that? And what's with the 72 hour training program?"

"Ah, I have no reason to take anymore readings of you until you finish this training and have had enough time to settle into the new power you will gain. As it is now I am fairly sure what will become of you without this training so I have no reason to bother with more readings unless you succeed here…"

Naruto just shook his head as he scratched his hair, "You're a strange one Urahara but if you think this will help then why not get started."

"Very well Naruto-san, just hold still…" said Urahara as he shoved the tip of his cane into Naruto's forehead.

And that day Urahara swore never to do it again. In an explosion of light that rocked the training ground blinding all present Urahara found the tip of his cane destroyed with the blade exposed but even that seemed mangled.

When the light and dust cleared everyone desperately looked to see what had become of Naruto. Their eyes widened in utter shock at what they saw. 4 glowing spheres larger then a man spun together around a strange crystal clear shard connected by chains thicker then a mans arm. 9 chains in total connected the spheres to the crystal. 2 to a sphere of rainbow colored light, 2 to an orb blacker then the night, 3 to a sphere of gold like the sun, 2 to one of the purest silver light shining like the moon, and finally at the center of them all was the crystal shard…

No one knew what to do or even what to say until the chains slowly began to retract…the crystal in the center slowly spun wrapping the chains around itself until the 4 spheres of light came together and in a small flash of light Naruto was once again standing there with saucer sized eyes until he shouted in a voice so deep and demonic that Urahara's hair almost turned a shade of white, **"NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!"**

After a few moments of calming his breathing Naruto asked, "What in the hell were you trying to do Urahara?"

If the disgruntled manhad ever been more unnerved in his life he wasn't sure but the one thing he knew was that this was not going to be easy training, "I…was trying to separate your soul from your body so we could begin training…" Urahara then raised the tip of his cane and said, "But it seems something went wrong…"

Naruto's breathing sped up again as he slowly and menacingly asked, "I told you that I was a demon didn't I? I told you that a demon was immortal correct?" receiving a nod from Urahara for both answers Naruto calmly asked, "Then why would you think it was possibly to separate my soul from my body?"

Everyone looked on with strange looks in their eyes, "Look I'll make this as easy as I can for you Urahara. A demon cannot die, we cannot be killed, we cannot become ill. We are beings of pure energy that take on physical form through different methods depending on what kind we are. We can be sealed, trapped, or even banished but even if this body was destroyed another would simply be created in time by my remaining energy. All you did by attempting whatever it is you tried was to separate my energies into their base forms…and to let you know it hurt quite a lot…"

Urahara stopped for a moment until he began to laugh hysterically as the other workers of the shop looked on strangely, "That's not possible Naruto-san! No one is immortal! Its nice that you like to think that but…now tell me what truly happened…" finished Urahara in a serious and deadly tone…

Naruto only grunted as he drew his sword from his back. In a flash that was too fast for any of them to follow Naruto's left arm flew threw the air before landing a few feet in front of Urahara, "Minor injuries to my body heal at an accelerated rate but still in a the way that a mortals would. This way it keeps the body in good shape and it won't require any resting on my part…but higher level ones such as a severed limb heal differently…"

The other people including Urahara were in a state of shock! They had just seen Naruto cut off his own arm like it was easy and even as they watched the blood slowly drip from his severed elbow they couldn't believe what they were seeing…Naruto's severed limb had slowly broken down into wisps of golden energy that began to gather at his bloody arm until…a new arm formed out of nothing the golden energy. As if scraps of paper had come together. No burst of blood or scream of pain…no flash of light. It was just there when the glow faded.

"As I said, I am immortal…even if you were able to completely destroy this body another would form after the energy that makes up my body gathered enough materials to make another. When I first arrived my energies and power was off balance, depleted, and even not working properly. This even kept me limited to my human and demon forms but now…I'm back to normal…mostly…even if this human body heals much slower then my demon one. It seems this new body can only handle so much energy in a given time and that too is a problem. Mostly troublesome…"

After so long of everyone just staring at him Naruto appeared next to Urahara and landed a solid hit to the top of his head and said, "Are we going to train or what? This shouldn't be a surprise for you! You just spent the last 3 days poking me with everything you had! You should know this!"

Urahara held his head as he stood again with a shadowed look in his eye, "You see Naruto-san…the reason I had to take so many readings and tests was…I couldn't find anything about you…all the results came back as being a normal human. Nothing special…I couldn't even figure out how you changed between your forms. Other then your unique energy and strangely structured muscles everything came back human. Blood, bone, tissues, organs…everything human. Far above human levels but still that of a human."

"Hmm, I never would have guessed that? What about the readings you took of my demon form? Those must have told you something?" asked Naruto not sure of what to say.

Urahara only shook his head as everyone else gathered around the two, "That too Naruto-san. Nothing showed up differently other then the brain scan I ran. If you were to be compared to a normal fox the only thing that would be found strange would be your appearance…to be specific your paws, multiple tails, and larger then normal size. Other then that everything showed up normal…not even blood tests."

Naruto shook his head, "How can that be true with what you just saw? I'm anything but normal."

"That's just it Naruto-san, you're not. Everything I found led me back to your youki. This youki as you call it is the key to everything about you…it's like nothing I have ever imagined or dreamed of. Levels upon levels of different energies all mixing together in ways I can't even begin to understand. Dozens of energies I couldn't even identify…when I spoke to you of your energy being a mix of physical and spiritual…I told you that because out of all the energy signatures I could detect within your youki those were the only two I could identify for certain…"

Naruto stood still for a moment as he thought over what he had heard, "I've never seen it that way…I've always seen my powers as physical, spiritual and youki when they're mixed. If what you're saying is true then you were able to count how many different energies there are right?"

Urahara was silent for a moment before turning to look at Naruto again, "I was able to clearly identify over 700 different energy signatures within you. Some spiritual, some physical, and some I couldn't even come close to understanding. All I know is that even when I add all of that up your energy that will effect spirits is nothing compared to what can affect physical things."

Naruto for one of the few times in the last few centuries was shocked, "I always knew there was something…basically different about youki from chakra but I never imagined something this…complex…how could it even be possible to produce so many different energies without even knowing it."

"You must understand Naruto-san…it's not that you do not have enough power. You have more then I could have ever imagined…and it slightly scares me when I think what you could do if you tried," Naruto only smirked at the tone he was hearing. He had forgotten what it felt like to be feared…and he had to admit…it was exciting, "The only thing holding you back here is that the spiritual power you have is being over run by the other energies intermixing. What this training is for is to force your spiritual energy to force itself to the front and mix more evenly with your physical energy and the only way to do that is if you train in a purely spiritual form."

Naruto blinked owlishly for several moments until he said, "You have got to be kidding me right? It's that simple to increase spiritual power?" With a nod from Urahara Naruto slapped his hand over his eyes, "If that's all you needed you should have said so…I can do that at will."

"Uhh?" was the only response from the shop residents.

"It's what many people refer to as will-o-wisps in your culture or Kitsune-bi. Its something fox spirits have been able to do for longer then I dare to guess. We simple manipulate our energies until our spiritual is all that present on the surface. This way we can move invisibly and freely to sneak into areas, steal as we like, or even haunt someone. The small blue flame that's seen is merely the large concentration of our physical energy packed together…I've just always viewed it as useless because I'm incorporeal in that form. I only use it for escape or when I need to get somewhere without interference."

"Ah, yes…Yoruichi told me about that…can you talk a humanoid form or is the blue flame all there is?" asked Urahara as The tall man called Tessai walked away with the Ururu.

"Well yes…I can really look like what ever I want when in that form. I really don't have any restrictions like I do in a physical body but I can't really do anything else other then cast illusions like that…why?"

"If you could please take on that form and allow me one last exam…if we're lucky we may be able to perform an entirely different training program then I had planned…"

Naruto just shrugged his shoulders as a flash of blue light surrounded him…when it cleared it was his turn to be horrified. A large metal plate covered his chest with multiple chains connected to it. From the plate a single chain extended to wrap around each of his limbs ending on a cuff either around his wrist or ankle. A fifth connected to a collar around his neck. Finally four of the chains extended from the plate and seemed to be fused with Naruto's sword as it rested against his back.

"What…what the hell is this? What are these chains?" asked Naruto as he struggled to break the bindings from his body.

"Just as I had hoped Naruto! A 'soul sleep' and a 'chain link'. This is more promising then I could have hoped for…even if things are slightly backward. Now how do you feel in that form?"

Naruto stood for a moment before going through several motions. Kicks, punches, stretching…after a few moments he said, "I feel slightly heavy. The chains aren't restriction as much as I would think and the weight isn't coming from them…it's more the atmosphere…"

Urahara took a moment to look Naruto over and after a moment he said, "You see a normal being has a 'soul sleep' and a 'chain link'. These are what stores and carries spiritual power for all beings. Shinigami, Hollow, human, and it seems you as well. At first I had only hoped to increase your spiritual energy like I would anyone else by having you train in your soul form. I didn't think your energy would work the same way as others…with a 'soul sleep' and 'chain link' a whole knew idea for training has become possible!"

"Yah that's cool and all but can you tell me why I'm so heavy?" asked Naruto as he moved around sluggishly.

"Ah, you see Naruto-san…now that you are in a spiritual form your own spirit power is being oppressed by the spirit power in the air. Your first step of training will be to increase you Reiatsu enough to move normally!"

"Wait you mean like that pressure you used on me before? I thought someone had to cause that?" asked Naruto.

"That is different Naruto-san. This world is filled with spirit particles and it causes pressure constantly. You never noticed before because you massive power made it seem like nothing. Now that you have nothing but your Reiatsu your feeling it more so but soon it won't be anything to you."

"Alright so what's my first exercise then?" asked Naruto too interested in what could come of this.

"Your first exercise will be to fight Ururu…the goal is to hit her at least once…" said Urahara as he pulled out a small paper fan.

"You have got to be kidding me? I can sense she's no ordinary girl but you expect me to fight her?" asked Naruto as he noticed some white training equipment thrown at his feet.

"Please put those on…or you could die…" said the small girl as she took a starting stance wearing gloves and a helmet of her own.

"I'm not going to fight…" but Naruto didn't get to finish what he was saying as Ururu shot off kicking up clouds of dust as she headed toward him.

Naruto barely dodged out of the way in time and with a simple sweep of her legs he was able to grab the back of her shirt and toss her a good distance away before standing again himself breathing hard, "That…was too close. What the hell is she to move that fast with such a small frame? And the power in that punch was close to what Sakura-chan was capable of…if I'm not careful here…"

"Did-did that guy just throw Ururu like she was a toy?!" asked Jinta as he looked on in shock.

"Manager…are you sure this is wise to be helping this boy?" asked Tessai, "If this training fails and things turn for the worse would we even be able to stop him?"

Urahara was silent as he watched the battle between Ururu and Naruto continue, "If we fail then we should be able to handle him as long as the rest of his power doesn't return. At the moment he's fighting with Reiatsu just slightly higher then a vise-captain…if he turns into a Hollow at that level we will be fine but if the bulk of his power returns…well we won't have time to contemplate our failure…"

Tessei and Jinta could only swallow hard at the idea Urahara had just implied. Fighting Naruto was not something either wanted to try just watching him fight with Ururu.

"Who would have thought this girl had this kind of power? I can barely block her punches and it seems she's speeding up on me…I'll have to counter attack eventually but this is far more productive then I could have imagined. I can feel my body slowly absorbing spirit particles from around me in response to this…this even gives me the perfect chance to observe my energy flow…"

Left, right, dodge, jump…it was truly interesting to watch Naruto dance around the smaller girl. She was quick and powerful but Naruto had far more experience in hand to hand combat and was easily using sweeping hand movements to wave off her strikes. Ururu had even gotten to the point of trying kicks and other things but none would land on Naruto.

Finally, Naruto had had enough…, "This may hurt slightly Ururu but it's clear you'll be able to take it so please don't be mad at me…"

The other resident of the shop looked on in shock as Naruto disappeared for only a moment only to reappear behind Ururu. With a quick chop to the back of her neck the girl fell limp into Naruto's arms. As he stood there for a moment Naruto couldn't help but smile, "Thank you Ururu…thanks to you I made more progress in these few moments then I have in days. I owe you a treat when you wake up!" finished Naruto with a happy grin as Tessai took the small girl from him.

"So what now?" asked Naruto as Jinta continued to move away from him, "What's the point to all this anyway? I know it's more then simply increasing my Reiatsu…"

"…the fact is Naruto-san, you may have a Zanpaku-to, the weapon of a Shinigami but as of yet you yourself are not. That fact that you posses a 'soul sleep' and 'chain link' means you can become a Shinigami…but there is a risk," Naruto just crossed his arms over his chest as he raised an eyebrow as if saying 'you got nothing', "There is a possibility of becoming a Hollow as well."

"So to become a Shinigami you have to cut this chain on my chest is the right? And then for some reason I either become a Hollow or Shinigami…"

"Uhh, yes but how did you know about that? Not many know this method to become a 'Death God'?" asked Urahara curiously.

"Oh, I don't know but the giant man behind you with the axe gave me an idea about what you had planned after you started talking about the 'chain link'…"

Urahara laughed lightly before saying, "That's right Naruto-san, normally when the 'chain of fate is cut it becomes impossible to return to your human body. After that there is only two choices for a being with spirit power like yours…you become a Shinigami of your own will or the chain erodes and you descend into becoming a Hollow. Its up to you…"

Naruto was quiet for a moment before he removes his sword from his back and turns to Urahara, "Then go ahead and cut them as short as you can…I'm sure I can handle what ever this will be…I'll become a Shinigami…"

"Very well Naruto-san…" with one swing Urahara easily severed all 9 chains from Naruto's chest. As the fall limp around him Naruto suddenly feels weaker as he drops to one knee, "From how short your chains are you should have around 10 hours until you run out of time…"

To Naruto's shock the ground underneath him disappeared in that moment. It only took Naruto a few moment to hit the bottom of the shaft with a loud crunch sound which he noted to look into later how he could crunch when he didn't have a body at the moment. As Naruto began to stand he noticed that his arms were firmly braced behind his back…, "What's this?"

"**Bakudo number 99: Kin**, I apologize for the arrogance of this Naruto-dono but until this lesson is cleared I have forbade the use of your arms…" said Tessai as he sat holding a strange hand seal across from him.

Naruto slowly stood even though it was slightly hard for some reason and looked up to see Urahara standing there, "Hay, Urahara what's the point of dropping me into a hole with my arms bound?"

"Understand that we must take precautions for the event that you fail! The binding on your arms and the fact that you are in the 'shattered shaft' will not only slow the erosion of your 'chain of fate' but will slowly drain away your Reiatsu…you have 10 hours to either climb out of that pit a Shinigami or we will put an end to you…"

Naruto's eyes widened as he felt something. As he looked down he watched in sick fascination as the broken links on his chains had some how grown mouths and had begun to devour each other! The pain was immense and Naruto could barely bring himself to stay standing from the pain…

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**(Several hours later…)**

Naruto was laying at the bottom of the pit with his head against the dirt with a glazed look in his eyes, _"Damn…why does this hurt so bad? These damn chains start eating each other every 20 minutes or so and I can barely stand when they do…what am I even supposed to do here…I thought it would just appear or maybe a feeling but other then this pain I haven't felt anything."_

Naruto then stood again and steadied himself as he looked down at his chest. One 3 chains remained and they barely were 5 inches long each, _"Not much time left…and ever since he cut the chains my Reiatsu has felt like it's going crazy…even my sword feels different…what would Kyuubi tell me to do?"_

"Oh right, suck it up and do the job brat…like that's a lot of help…gwaaaaaa!"

As Naruto began to hunch over in pain he watched in horror as the last of his chains began to eat themselves away until they finally reached his chest…and then nothing. The pain had stopped. The plate on his chest was still there even if all the chains connected to his chest were gone…then he noticed that the chains still attached to his wrists and sword began to glow until…

"AHHHHAAAAAAA!!!" was all Naruto could think to do as a white liquid began to explode out of his mouth and eyes…

"Hmm, so he's resisting…just as I thought he would…normally his sprit form would have shattered and reformed into his new Hollow body and then a mask would form but because of his resistance the mask is forming first to break his control…" said Urahara to stop Jinta and Ururu from attacking Naruto. As they watched as the white liquid began to cover Naruto's face as it swirled around him he continued, "Until the mask solidifies he still has a chance to become a Shinigami…be sure to give him the chance…"

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"Hmm, where am I?" asked Naruto as he looked into the dead forest that surrounded him.

"_**It's about time you got here gaki…we have quite the problem on our hands…and not enough time to fix it!"**_

When Naruto spun around his eyes locked with Kyuubi's and he couldn't be happier, "Hay, its not my fault! I've been trying to reach you! We'll at least I'm here now…but why is the forest dead?"

"_**I know…I've been trying to do the same but it seems that because your Reiatsu was so weak we weren't able to connect properly…and now that it's finally high enough you're turning into one of those damn Hollow…just look at this place because of it! The sewer was better!"**_

"It's not like I chose this Kyuubi? I can't even figure out what I'm supposed to do right now…"

"_**Follow me and I'll tell you…"**_ said Kyuubi as he began heading into the darkness of the dead woods, _**"You've had Shinigami powers since we came here but because your demonic powers were so overwhelming they weren't able to surface properly. I think the Shinigami thought that by sealing away the bulk of your power it would be enough to let them grow."**_

"I take it that it wasn't?" asked Naruto as he continued to follow Kyuubi.

"_**It would have if it wasn't for the guest you picked up…he's been feeding off almost all your Reiatsu and leaving you nearly none and that's slowed your awakening as well."**_

"Guest? What guest?" asked Naruto.

"_**That one…"**_ said Kyuubi as he pointed down into a chasm of white stones.

As Naruto stared down into the scar in the earth his breath hitched in his throat. He watched in horror as a silver and white version of his demon form with two tails walked back and forth within the chasm. Its fur was a shined silver with pure white where ever black shown on his but the color wasn't the only difference between him and this creature. Its heads were covered in the white bone of a Hollow mask as it's claws were black as night…the two heads moved from side to side in an almost odd and animalistic way.

"How?" was all Naruto could think to ask.

"_**You didn't think all the problems you were having were normal did you? When you used me to kill that first Hollow it was absorbed and brought here. At first I didn't even realize it…that is until it was able to take your hanyo body for itself…"**_

"NANI!?!"

"_**Yah, the thing isn't that smart…no more then a dumb mutt but it sniffed out were your other forms were and was able to fuse with your hanyo body. Nearly got your demon body to…after I stopped that it took on this form to get as close to your demon form as it could and while it was doing that I was able to trap it here. This way I could keep it from doing anymore damage but it still got two of your tails while it was free and really messed things up as you can see…"**_

"So what do we do about the twins down there?" asked Naruto after scratching his head, "Can we kill it or get my hanyo form back?"

"_**Right now there's nothing we can do about him. Somewhere in this forest is the chain that connects you and me. The chain that represents your power as a Shinigami. If we don't find it then we're both screwed…all chuckles down there is doing is feeding off of any stray energy that makes it's way down there so he's no problem for now…"**_

Naruto wasn't convinced but he figured he didn't have the time at the moment, "Alright then, lets go and find that chain…I really want out of that hole…" said Naruto as he began heading off into the woods again.

"_**Kid…you better hurry…you may not realize it but you're already out of the hole…and your friends are no where near ready for what they're facing…"**_

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Yoruichi slowly rose again from the ground as she stumbled slightly. As she looked around her she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Jinta was out cold with blood slowly seeping from his side. Ururu was out of sight but from the strike she took there was no way even that girl would be up again. Tessai was coved by rocks that had fallen loose from the cliff he had smashed into…

As she ran forward into the dust she came upon the form of Urahara using Benihime to steady himself as he looked into the glowing yellow eyes before him. He could only cough up blood as he again fell to the ground and Yoruichi could only mutter a single word…a word that carried all the fear she now held…

"Vasto-lorde…"

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What you all think?

Also I will be taking arguments for pairings. I'm really not for or against any girl for Naruto so this is bad and good because I could write any pairing and be happy with it…but it's also bad because I can't decide for myself.

So give me a pairing and your reasons for it and you may see it! And don't just say harem…if you want multiple girls then give me a reason why! How they would get along or a common bond. Something to justify it and it will most likely happen!


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